Search from various English teachers...
Sanya
Should it be 'parent's shoulders' or 'parents' shoulders'?
If two kids are sitting on mom and dad's shoulders separately, should the expression be that the two kids are sitting on their 'parents' shoulders' or 'parent's shoulders'? Thank you!
Jul 6, 2011 11:40 PM
Answers · 4
Oooh tricky. Since you are refering to two people this is an apostrophe after a plural. So the correct spelling is parents'. Regardless of their spacial relationship you are still refering to both parents. If you just say parent's you negated the plurality of the statement and you could only be refering to one parent. Since parent is a singular noun it still follows normal apostrophe rules. If you are this advanced in English writing you may want to purchase the book, "Elements of Style," (title of books should be in italics but I don't have that option) by William Strunk and E. B. White.
July 7, 2011
Well, it depends. If you're talking about TWO OR MORE parents, then you go with "parents' shoulders", but if you're talking about only one person, you should use " parent's shoulders", thought it'd be more common to be used "mother" or "father" instead of "parent" when it's only one person.
July 6, 2011
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
Sanya
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English
Learning Language
English
Articles You May Also Like

Same Word, Different Meaning: American, British, and South African English
11 likes · 8 Comments

How to Sound Confident in English (Even When You’re Nervous)
13 likes · 11 Comments

Marketing Vocabulary and Phrases for Business English Learners
10 likes · 4 Comments
More articles