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Can I say "She can distinguish her baby's cry from others'?

English Language & Usage Asked on December 24, 2020

Is it OK to say this way? Or should I say "She has the ability to distinguish her baby’s cry from that of others."? In this sentence she has the ability to identify the particular cry of her own baby.

One Answer

Yours is an example of noun ellipsis.

She can distinguish her baby's cry from others' cries. -->
She can distinguish her baby's cry from others' [ ].

However, I don't think that's what you mean to say. As constructed, your sentence could be comparing her baby's cry to, for example, the cries of elephants or doves.

I think you mean this:

She can distinguish her baby's cry from other babies' cries. -->
She can distinguish her baby's cry from other babies' [ ].

Your best bet is to rewrite without a possessive apostrophe:

She can distinguish her baby's cry from those of other babies.

Answered by Tinfoil Hat on December 24, 2020

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