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OP
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I met with a friend of Molly's
I met with a friend of a friend
I met with a friend's friend
Is the first right and the other two wrong?
I understand that one might use such phrasing for aesthetic value; so does that mean that it's use is 'wrong', or rather, should be avoided, if purely utilitarian? E.g. 'The Tempest of Shakespeare’s'.
Spend your weekend well!
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addict
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addict
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I would feel comfortable using any of the three. When I tell someone a story or anecdote that I have been told is gospel truth, but still seems of dubious veracity, I call it a "friend of a friend story", as in, "This really happened to my best friend's friend's cousin's roomate's ex-girlfriend, I swear!"
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I met with a friend of Molly's
I met with a friend of a friend
I met with a friend's friend
This just points that we are not yet completely comfortable with the fact that we have *almost dumped all vestiges of case structure in the English noun†. Originally we didn't much use prepositions, relying on case to tell us the relationship among nouns in a sentence. We now use word order and prepositions. One of the characteristics of the transitional phase was the requirement that the case of a noun was linked to the preposition. Since the only case we show by inflectional endings is the possessive (formerly known as the genitive) and the only preposition we use it with is of it is something of an anomaly and therefore raises questions. To take the example one by one:
A) I met with a friend of Molly's
This fits the discussion above. Given the meaning there really isn't any other way you can say it. You can't say a Molly's friend. The a here does have a meaning that can't easily be said any other way.
2) I met with a friend of a friend
Nothing wrong with this.
Ž) I met with a friend's friend
Just another way of saying 2)
†We are also in the process of losing it in pronouns, causing a great weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth among the grammatically hypersensitive.
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journeyman
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You can't say 'a Molly's friend'.
Well, you could, if the Molly was a Molly Maguire.
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newbie
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newbie
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In reply to:
I met with a friend of Molly's
I met with a friend of a friend
I met with a friend's friend
Is the first right and the other two wrong?
No. The first one's wrong and the other two are right.
It should be: 'I met with a friend of Molly', shouldn't it?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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No. The first one's wrong and the other two are right.
It should be: 'I met with a friend of Molly', shouldn't it?Ah, such courage from the Red Centre! I agree with you Rusty. When I see "I met with a friend of Molly's" I immediately wonder, "Molly's what ?" 
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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old hand
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old hand
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Ok, this is what the AHD has to say about it:
Grammarians have sometimes objected to the so-called double genitive construction, as in a friend of my father's; a book of mine. But the construction has been used in English since the 14th century and serves a useful purpose. It can help sort out ambiguous phrases like Bob's photograph, which could refer either to a photograph of Bob (that is, revealing Bob's image) or to one in Bob's possession. A photograph of Bob's, can only be a photo that Bob has in his possession, which may or may not show Bob's image. Moreover, in some sentences the double genitive offers the only way to express what is meant. There is no substitute for it in a sentence such as That's the only friend of yours that I've ever met, since sentences such as That's your only friend that I've ever met and That's your only friend, whom I've ever met are awkward or inaccurate.
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Carpal Tunnel
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fwiw, I agree with the AHD. besides, life's more like a double negative.
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Carpal Tunnel
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While we're (sort of) on the subject, I found myself writing the other day "... he's gone to one of his student's birthday party." Does the panel prefer "one of his student's" or "one of his students'"? Neither feels quite right.
Bingley
Bingley
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OP
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> ..life's more like a double negative.
Quite. The title was a play on that.
> 'one of his student's'
Looks fine to me.
Thanks to Faldage and all!
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