Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Drib
one would not normally write (as a singular possessive) this:
Sailers's
Dickens's
as it becomes a 'difficult word to pronounce. In my studies on this (when I was teaching Fussiness Grammar at a local business college - in addition to my high school English teaching), it becomes a matter of choice. Say the word Dickens's or Sailers'sout loud. It becomes readily apparent that they sound awkward.
Rather, what the 'experts' have stated is that one should write the singular possessive in this way (using specifically the two examples from above):
Sailers'
Dickens'
One is still referring to the singular possessive (as well as relying upon context, of course).
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This is actually a point on which "the authorities" disagree. There is a school of thought (including the "house style" of many academic journals) which says that for a
proper name ending in "s", the "'s" should be added: thus "Dickens's novels". At the end of the day you either:
1. Do what seems best to you.
2. If submitting a paper to a journal, follow the rules that are required by that journal.