I want to talk about a specific woman. She is the wife of one of my cousins. So I have several cousins, but not each of them has a wife, and those who have one obviously only have one.
Can I say "one of my cousins' wife"? In which "one of" refers to "one cousin amongst the group of several men who are my cousins"?
If I pronounce this sentence, people can hear "one of my cousin's wife", and then there is a mistake because I say "wife" instead of "wives", as they understand that one cousin has several wives.
So could I write "one of my cousins' wife" or "one of my cousins's wife"? Or should I just give up and switch to "the wife of one of my cousins"? I can say it differently but I'm very interested in knowing what could be possible. Thank you!
Best Answer
There are times when the result of trying to get things correct sounds awkward. This is one of them. Take the coward's way out, write around it, and say "the wife of one of my cousins" and forget the rest of it. PaulB.