Doctor Appointments?
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Are they her appointments with a doctor or doctors? Or is she substituting for her doctor, and going to his appointments?
Here's where I suggest that you change 'doctor' to 'medical' in the first example: "She went to all her medical apointments. [It took the better part of a week, and three trips to the bank to get the money for the co-pays, but finally she was done with the pre-nuptuial requirements.]"
Thank you, Duncan.
I am bumping up this thread to see if there are any opinions on how to write this without changing "doctor" to "medical." It's a pregnant woman who never misses her appointments.
I am bumping up this thread to see if there are any opinions on how to write this without changing "doctor" to "medical." It's a pregnant woman who never misses her appointments.
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You are right, Melanie, and thanks for the suggestion. I don't want to change the phrase, though. I just want to write "doctors appointments" in correct English.
Since the appointments are hers, you would not use the possessive form, doctor's, which would sound like the doctor has appointments, not the patient.
She went to all her appointments with her doctor (or doctors, depending). You don't the "of". It's unnecessary.
Thanks, CaroGirl and Silver King. The "of" is not really important here. The sentence could just as easily be: I have a doctors appointment on Thursday.
This is how people commonly speak where I am from in California, so I don't want to change the phrase. But I just can't seem to decide if it should be doctor/doctors/doctor's appointment, although I do agree with Silver King that it should not be possessive. At the same time, I am almost sure I hear people say it with an s (doctors), yet "doctors appointments" looks strange to me.
This is how people commonly speak where I am from in California, so I don't want to change the phrase. But I just can't seem to decide if it should be doctor/doctors/doctor's appointment, although I do agree with Silver King that it should not be possessive. At the same time, I am almost sure I hear people say it with an s (doctors), yet "doctors appointments" looks strange to me.
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I have a doctor's appointment (an appointment with one doctor).
She went to all her doctors' appointments (appointments with several doctors).
It is a possessive: it's the appointment made by her doctor to see her, therefore it's her doctor's appointment.
She went to all her doctors' appointments (appointments with several doctors).
It is a possessive: it's the appointment made by her doctor to see her, therefore it's her doctor's appointment.
That's a good point, too, IceCreamEmpress. What about lots of appointments with one doctor? Doctor's appointments?
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Yep, no problem with that either.
See, both "doctor appointment" and "doctor's appointment" are correct. It's a "doctor appointment" because it's an appointment with a doctor. It's a "doctor's appointment" because the doctor made it with you, therefore it belongs to her.
I don't know if it's a regional dialect thing or a personal idiolect thing, but people always say one or the other. I'm definitely one for the "doctor's appointment" and "dentist's appointment" usage.
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