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How should I create possessives (for joined and separate ownerships) if each individual isn't a noun but a pronoun?

Knowing that: Peter and Dave's car means Peter and Dave own one car. And that Peter's and Dave's cars means Peter has a car and Dave has a car. (https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/nouns/possessive-nouns.html)

So now, how do I use the possessive if I want to include pronouns such as "your", "mine", "her", "their" and "his"?

When I want to make it clear that it's joined ownership, for example:

  • If Dave and I both own the same car, how should I write? --> "Dave and my car", "Me and Dave's car" or "my and dave's car" or whatever option(s) is/are correct?
  • If she and I both own the same cat, how should I write? --> "her and my cat" or whatever option(s) is/are correct?

But when I want to make it clear that it's separate ownership:

  • If Dave and I each have a car of our own, how should I write? --> "Dave's and my cars" or "mine and dave's cars" or whatever option(s) is/are correct?
  • If she and I each have a cat of our own, how should I write? --> "hers and my cats" or "mine and her cats" or whatever option(s) is/are correct?

Thank you for your help.

Eren8hisfather
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2 Answers2

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  1. Dave's and my car. (I think a lot of people, in casual speech, would say 'me and Dave's car, but it's wrong.)

  2. Her and my cat (but why not 'our'?).

  3. Dave's and my cars.

  4. Her and my cats.

Kate Bunting
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    If I read “I saw her and my cat crossing the road” I would understood it as a human and an animal crossing the road. Would “my and her cat” work better in this situation, even though the order is normally wrong? – Peter Aug 15 '22 at 07:25
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    I find it an odd sentence altogether. In real life you would say "I saw our cat" or, at a stretch (if the co-owner hadn't previously been mentioned) "Jane's and my cat"/"me and Jane's cat". – Kate Bunting Aug 15 '22 at 07:47
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    I think I would eliminate the awkwardness and ambiguity involved in 3 by expanding it to "Dave's car and my car". For example "Dave's car and my car are parked in the 30-minute zone. We'll have to move them soon". Having said that I'd probably say "Dave and I have parked in the 30-minute zone" and imply the cars. – BoldBen Aug 15 '22 at 13:12
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  • "My car, which is also Dave's," (It seems to me that any other option makes for confusion.)

  • "Her cat, which is also mine," (same remark as above)

  • "My car and Dave's" or "Dave's car and mine"

  • "My cat and hers" or "her cat and mine"

LPH
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  • Hello, thank you for answering. Just a question, was it intentional that in the last sentence you wrote "her's"? I think it should be "hers"... – Eren8hisfather Aug 15 '22 at 11:12
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    @Eren8hisfather That was not intentional, it's an error; I'll change it to "hers". – LPH Aug 15 '22 at 13:00