Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: grandparents: parents of the mother or the father

ok. So, in this definition, I could have written "grandparents: parents of 
the mother or of the father". Instead, I wrote "parents of the father or the 
mother". I think the definition is still very clear, and that extra "of" is 
not essential.
Do you agree with me?
If you do, can you think of a grammatical principle that allows a series of 
objects to be listed with just one "of" at the beginning?
like in: "he was the favorite singer of mothers, sisters, aunts, and 
friends"... (just the first sentence that came to my mind...)
Basically the question is: I know it's right, but can you quote a grammar 
book that says it can be done?
Since somebody is questioning the correctness of the definition I wrote 
above, I was looking for some source to validate the choice of using just 
one "of".
I am looking at the Webster Dictionary, Michael Swan's Practical English 
Usage (Oxford), Webster's Dictionary of English Usage.... and I'm starting 
to think that this is something so obvious that it's not even mentioned.
Still, it ought to be mentioned, somewhere... maybe I'm not looking at the 
right sources? or I just can't find the right topic?
...
thanks in advance...
Tangshan.

, 
tang...@tiscali.it
 says...

Well it is common to hear (in England) "my mother's (or father's) 
parents" or alternatively "my mum's (or dad's) parents. The correct 
phrase is "maternal (or paternal) grandparents". It is used less in the 
spoken language these days & only if there is a real need to specify 
which grandparents you are refering to.
Pip pip
-- 
Chris Notton
Replace "nospam" with my surname to reply by email
Sostituisca il "nospam" con il mio cognome per rispondere
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"Chris Notton" <chris...@MTR90.com> ha scritto nel messaggio 
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ok, thanks -
but the point wasn't the definition itself, that was actually part of an 
english course (and had to be worded that way to avoid using the possessive 
's, which was in the next lesson). I used that sentence as a pretext to ask 
if anyone had any idea on where to find a specific rule on using "of" only 
once, for more than one thing, like: "the responsibility of the father and 
the mother..." (instead of "the responsibility of the father and OF the 
mother")..
Tang.

 wrote in message
news:454683eb$0$13766$4faf...@reader3.news.tin.it...

Including the second "of" makes it sound like two separate
responsibilities, when it is probably actually just one shared
responsibility.
I think you will also often hear "the responsibility of the father and
mother".
Google doesn't return any hits for the version with two "ofs".
Joe from Massachusetts

 > spoken language these days & only if there is a real need to specify
Sorry, missed the first post. 
I think that you would only use the "of" both times when you wanted to 
emphasise the dual nature of the responsibility. I.e. using "of the" 
twice makes it clear that if one parent was absent, or negligent etc. 
then it would be the responsibility of the other to ensure that the 
action (or whatever) was taken; whereas the first example (1 x of) is 
less strong and implies that one-parent-or-other should be responsible. 
The dual "of" sounds more "official" or "legal".
Both uses are quite correct but have slightly different implications.


 ha scritto nel messaggio 
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Thanks for confirming that, Joe -
they were trying to tell me that it was correct the other way around (two 
"ofs"), but I couldn't find any "rule" in a grammar book or dictionary (or 
anywhere!) to prove my point.
Tang

 one "of".
A parte la conferma dei madrelingua che hai ricevuto in questo filone,
potresti citare alcuni esempi d'uso tratti da saggi, romanzi e testi
ufficiali...
http://books.google.com/books?hl=it&q=%22of+the+mother+or+father%22&as_brr=0

 ha scritto nel messaggio 
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thanks! :)
Tang 

 wrote in message
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
These citations seem to confirm that not only are two "ofs"
superfluous, but also two "thes".
Joe from Massachusetts



Vedi anche, con la frase completa "parents of the mother or father"
http://books.google.com/books?hl=it&q=%22parents+of+the+mother+or+father%22&as_brr=0
Sono solo cinque libri, ma sarebbero zero cercando "parents of the mother
or OF THE father".

 Google doesn't return any hits for the version with two "ofs".
Anche "parents of the mother or father" sembra essere preferita a "parents
of the mother or of the father".
Per esempio
 
Washington State - A Glossary of the words involved in a dependency ... -
GRANDPARENT: The parents of the mother or father of a child, including
adoptive children...
home1.gte.net/res02wo7/glos.htm
 - 9k - Copia cache - Pagine simili 

 ha scritto nel messaggio 
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grande!
I'm not worthy! :)
Tang.