Possessives of "you guys" and "me and Laura&q

Johnny   Tue Sep 01, 2009 9:55 pm GMT
Hi,
what do you use, in everyday English, as the possessive of:

YOU GUYS: The problem you guys have
1) You guys' problem?
2)Or you have no possessive for this?


ME AND LAURA: The problem me and Laura have (also "The problem Laura and I have")
1) Me and Laura's problem? (Some people told me this is used, and I've seen it used online)
2) Laura and I's problem? (This is definitely used but I don't really like it)
3) Laura's and my problem? (This should be correct but I doubt it's used in casual English)
The Answer   Tue Sep 01, 2009 10:12 pm GMT
1. You guys' (pron. /ju ''gaizIz/)

2. Mine and Laura's
Travis   Wed Sep 02, 2009 12:35 am GMT
As for "you guys", this depends on dialect and the individual; I have heard "you guys'", "your guys'", "you guys's", and "your guys's". At least here in Milwaukee, "your guys'" seems to be the most common of the four, even though I will also hear the other three as well.
CID   Wed Sep 02, 2009 4:48 am GMT
<<"your guys'">>

Travis,
Does this ever get confused with "your guy's" [your boyfriend's] as in "Your guy's pants are torn" as opposed to "You guys' pants are torn"?
Travis   Wed Sep 02, 2009 5:00 am GMT
Not really; such would probably only ever possibly show up in particular contexts, and in reality would be easily discernible by context in such cases.
Laura Braun   Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:29 pm GMT
Johnny why don't you use some other name, I do not know you what kind of problems you have with Laura but you should use some other name like Jessica, Melinda, Britney, Angelina, Jenifer, or whatever
Another Guest   Fri Sep 04, 2009 11:33 pm GMT
<<Does this ever get confused with "your guy's" [your boyfriend's] as in "Your guy's pants are torn" as opposed to "You guys' pants are torn"?>>
They are pronounced differently (at, they should be). "guy's" is "guyz", "guys'" is "guyziz".
Travis   Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:10 pm GMT
Depends on dialect; "guys'" and in "your guys'" and "guys" here are homophones, as [g̥ae̯z̥]~[g̥ae̯s].
Paul   Mon Sep 07, 2009 4:06 am GMT
I always get a kick out of "Yous guys's"