my or mine John's and my house

[hfpardue]

Hey, everyone. Is the following sentence correct?

Would you like to come over to John's and my house?

I am saying that John and I live at the same house. Thanks.

 

[JamesM]

I don't know what others will say, but there is a certain awkwardness to the way that words can be put together. Just because they can be put together in that way doesn't mean that they should be. I know that probably sounds elitist, but I mean to say that there are certain combinations of words that just don't flow well.

I don't know that it's incorrect to say, "to John's and my house". It looks grammatically correct to me. I think it might be better to say something like "Would you like to come over to the house John and I share?"

I also wonder why you're avoiding simply saying "our house". Is there a reason to communicate that you and John share a house but do not have anything else in common? If so, "the house (that) John and I share" or "the house that John and I are sharing" gives that information to the listener. Otherwise, I'd just say "our house."

 

[BoTrojan]

I agree mostly with JamesM. These situations create awkward formulations and many (many) Americans seem to struggle with it. The bottom line is this:

"... to John's and my house" is correct and valid and you'll hear it often. The options that JamesM offers are also fine.

 

[hfpardue]

I agree with you guys completely. I wouldn't say to John's and my house, but our house. I was just thinking about it from a grammatical standpoint. It sounds awkward to me, too.

 

[JamesM]

I agree that you'll often hear it. It's definitely a common occurrence in spoken American English. It always tweaks my ear a bit when I hear it, though.

 

[Matching Mole]

"Back to mine", "back to ours" or "back to mine and John's" would be the most common amongst people I know in the UK. Very few would bother with "house" in this kind of sentence, and in the case of a shared residence, "ours" is probably the most likely solution. In this kind of informal speech, few people care much about the grammar, and frankly, I'm not one of them.

 

[domangelo]

I have used this construction many times. I don't like the sound of it, but at times it is difficult to avoid. Sometimes "our" house doesn't give the precise information.

 

[bingaling]

Hey, everyone. Is the following sentence correct?

Would you like to come over to John's and my house?

I am saying that John and I live at the same house. Thanks.

The real problem comes in if you want to say "It's a difficult situation for my parents and John's.
So:
It's a difficult situation for my and John's parents.
It's a difficult situation for mine and John's parents.
I think the former is grammatically correct but sounds weird. I'd like to know a rule, if anyone knows one, not a way around it, since that's very obvious.

 

[Loob]

There isn't a rule, I'm afraid.
The best thing to do is use one of the "obvious" ways round it.

 

[bingaling]

There isn't a rule, I'm afraid.
The best thing to do is use one of the "obvious" ways round it.

I thought there mightn't be, English is so chaotic, in stark contrast to French which they try to dictate (in vain of course). Did you hear any of the recent chatter about Covid? The Académie decided in its great wisdom that it should be la Covid (la maladie de Covid) but everyone was already saying le Covid (le virus de Covid), so yet another battle lost by the lingo fascists. They're right of course, since the virus is coronavirus and the illness is Covid, but the wave was already way too strong against them.

 

[Loob]

I wouldn't call English chaotic, despite the lack of an Academy or other governing body. But there are some areas where none of the "logical" options really sound natural; so you use an alternative formulation.

 

[bingaling]

I wouldn't call English chaotic, despite the lack of an Academy or other governing body. But there are some areas where none of the "logical" options really sound natural; so you use an alternative formulation.

Thanks for explaining to me how to express myself in my mother tongue And as for chaotic, we'll have to agree to differ. I mean it in the sense that there are more exceptions than rules. Spanish, for example, is very regular/logical, there are few exceptions, but English is all over the place. And don't start me on phrasal verbs.