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Parents' vs. parent's?

6 replies
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Normally you would say "I visited my parents' house the other day", but is it possible to say "I visited my parent's house the other day" if you are referring to only one of your parents?
New Member06
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I guess it's ok, grammatically... But I suspect native speakers are not really likely to say it that way. Since we are talking about one parent, you can specify whether it's your mother or your father:

I visited my mom's house the other day...
I visited my dad's house the other day...

Just my opinion though... wait for a native speaker if you want to be sure, LOL. Emotion: smile
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I go along with Kooyeen. However, I'm not a native.

In case the houses are different from each other I'd say it.
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I would never say "my parent's house" to refer to a house my mother lived in (assuming my father did not live there too). I'd say "my mother's house."

However, you might see something like "You need a parent's signature on your permission slip" to mean the signature of either parent (not both).
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Hi Jacobsen
JacobsenNormally you would say "I visited my parents' house the other day",
Yes, that's fine.
Jacobsenbut is it possible to say "I visited my parent's house the other day" if you are referring to only one of your parents?
No, that's not natural. Kooyeen is correct. If a native speaker is talking about just one parent, they will normally refer to either mother/mom or father/dad. Also keep in mind that saying my parents' house sounds exactly the same as my parent's house. As a rule, native speakers will understand that you are talking about a house belonging to both parents (no matter where you imagine the apostrophe to be).
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Thank you for all your answers. I appreciate them.
Anonymous:
First, let me preface: I, too, am a native speaker.

I would, and do refer to singular parents in this manner. I do have the option to say "My mother's house," but that would be unnecessarily specific for the amount of information given - perhaps all I desire to reveal. Thusly, it is not only grammatically correct, but a resonable statement to say "My parent's house."

Though, this must be qualified. Yankee was correct: It is true that the two (parent's and parents') are aurally equivalent, thus making them difficult to differentiate in a spoken setting. If the question is one of written grammar, your answer is a 'yes,' you can use it. If, instead, it's meant to be for face-to-face, conversational usage, then it does - if you're willing to be specific, it wouldn't hurt.
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