doubt

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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > doubt

doubt

federic@

doubt

Hello everyone,

I ´m writing to ask your advice.

I ´m having drama lessons with my pupils at school. We are working on a play about the "Wizard of Oz"., which has been adapted and changed in some parts if compared to the original story.

One of the characters often uses this sentence:

- Let ´s go to the teacher ´s -

or something similar:, like

- Why don ´t you go to the teacher ´s? -

I think these sentences are wrong, because of the ´s after the noun "teacher".

Do you agree?

Thanks a lot.

Federica

5 Apr 2017

cunliffe

Should it just be a straightforward plural? Let ´s go to the teachers.

As it stands, with the apostrophe, it means Let ´s go to the teacher ´s house. Just as in, Let ´s go to mine, means Let´s go to my house.

Would that make sense, or is it just a misplaced apostrophe?

5 Apr 2017

federic@

Thanks a lot!

I think it ´s a misplaced apostrophe.

5 Apr 2017

schofkate

I agree with Cunliffe. It means Let ´s go to the teacher ´s house.

When talking, it is quite common to hear.

For example. "Where are you going?"

"I ´m going to my friend ´s."

It is understood that you mean your friend ´s house.

Or it means go and see the teachers and the apostrophe should not be there. Let ´s go to the teachers. (Let us go and see the teachers)

5 Apr 2017

Mohamed Hamed

The (possessive ´s) sometimes refers to a place. When you say "baker ´s", you mean the bakery.

5 Apr 2017

KathrynBrooks1

To elaborate, here are a few examples. Let ´s go to the teachers. (Let ´s go talk to some of the teachers who work at our school.) Let ´s go to the teacher ´s break room, to see if Mrs. Smith is there. (This is a room for teachers only.) For the apostrophe to be correct, a noun should follow the word "teacher ´s." :-)

5 Apr 2017

ldthemagicman

Dear Federic@,

Here in the north of England, if we say: "I ´m going to X ´s", (using an apostrophe ´), it refers to going to a house, a building, a place, which is well-known to both the Speaker and the Listener.

"Let ´s go to Maria ´s" ( = "Let us go to the house of our mutual friend, Maria").

"Let ´s go to Dad ´s" ( = "Let us go to the house of our father").

"Let ´s go to Robert ´s" ( = "Let us go to the house of our brother, Robert, who we have recently been discussing").

"Let ´s go to the Doctor ´s" ( = "Let us go to the surgery of the Doctor, and we both know which Doctor I mean").

"Let ´s go to the Chemist ´s" ( = "Let us go to the Pharmacy of the Chemist which I always use").

"Let ´s go to the Newsagent ´s" ( = "Let us go to the Shop of the Newsagent where I/we always buy our newspaper, or the Newsagent ´s shop that we have recently been discussing").

Using this analogy:

"Let ´s go to the Teacher ´s" ( = "Let us go to the house/residence/classroom/private room/study of the Teacher who we all know and who we visit regularly").

This may be what is intended in the script.

Les Douglas

6 Apr 2017

redcamarocruiser

I agree with Les. It is the same in the US.

6 Apr 2017