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Old 03-04-2011, 01:13 PM   #1
John F
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Grammer question
If someones name ends in an "s" (for example, Lois), and you want to show possession, would it be:

A) Lois' book
B) Lois's book

I say A), but I'm reading an ebook, and it has B).

Thanks.
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Old 03-04-2011, 01:15 PM   #2
WT Sharpe
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I've seen it both ways in some very scholarly works. I think it's a matter of taste. I prefer A as well.
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Old 03-04-2011, 01:31 PM   #3
WT Sharpe
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According to edufind.com,
Quote:
Ordinary (or common) nouns that end in s, both singular and plural, show possession simply by adding an ' after the s but proper nouns (names of people, cities, countries etc.) can form the possessive either by adding the 's or simply adding the ':
* a. The Hughes' home (or the Hughes's home), Mr Jones's shop (or Mr Jones' shop), Charles' book (or Charles's book)
* b. the ladies' tennis club, the teachers' journal, the priests' church (note that the priest's church would only be refering to one priest while the priests' church refers to a group.)
According to GrammarBook.com:
Quote:
Rule: To show singular possession for a word ending in an s or s sound, use the apostrophe and another s.

Examples: the class’s opinion (one class), a bass’s stripes, Marx’s theories, Dickens’s novels
Hope that clears up any confusion! Makes it clear as mud to me!
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Old 03-04-2011, 01:45 PM   #4
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Might want to look at spelllink too
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Old 03-04-2011, 01:56 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe View Post


Hope that clears up any confusion! Makes it clear as mud to me!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TGS View Post
Might want to look at spelllink too
Or use the magic 8-ball

I hate grammar, my philosophy has always been "when in doubt add a comma".
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Old 03-04-2011, 01:58 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TGS View Post
Might want to look at spelllink too
Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe View Post
According to edufind.com,

Quote:
Ordinary (or common) nouns that end in s, both singular and plural, show possession simply by adding an ' after the s but proper nouns (names of people, cities, countries etc.) can form the possessive either by adding the 's or simply adding the ':
* a. The Hughes' home (or the Hughes's home), Mr Jones's shop (or Mr Jones' shop), Charles' book (or Charles's book)
* b. the ladies' tennis club, the teachers' journal, the priests' church (note that the priest's church would only be refering to one priest while the priests' church refers to a group.)
<snip>
That's taken straight from the web site! I hadn't noticed!
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Old 03-05-2011, 06:06 AM   #7
HarryT
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For proper names, it appears to be more common to add an 's even if the person's name ends in "s". Eg the writing guidelines for the scholarly journal concerning Charles Dickens, "Dickens Quarterly", are that the possessive form of his name should always be written "Dickens's".

BTW: the word is "grammar", not "grammer" .
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Old 03-05-2011, 06:11 AM   #8
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Maybe John F is in fact Kelsey Grammer
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Old 03-05-2011, 07:38 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John F View Post
If someones name ends in an "s" (for example, Lois), and you want to show possession, would it be:

A) Lois' book
B) Lois's book

I say A), but I'm reading an ebook, and it has B).

Thanks.
Supposedly, the "correct" method is Lois's, but then grammar has changed and relaxed so much over the last few years (I'm convinced it's the internet and texting that has caused this), so do whatever you feel happiest with.
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Old 03-05-2011, 09:27 AM   #10
WT Sharpe
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT View Post
For proper names, it appears to be more common to add an 's even if the person's name ends in "s". Eg the writing guidelines for the scholarly journal concerning Charles Dickens, "Dickens Quarterly", are that the possessive form of his name should always be written "Dickens's".<snip>
That makes sense, but I see it otherwise, even in scholarly journals, all the time.

Case in point (search time = seconds): Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia/London) / WTS Resources / Articles and Publications:

Quote:
"Jesus' Words to the Canaanite Woman: Another Perspective" The Urban Face of Mission: Ministering the Gospel in a Diverse and Changing World. Manuel Ortiz and Susan Baker, editors. Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing, 2002. 197-224.
Of course, I see it the other way also. There seems to be no consistency, even in the halls of academia.
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Old 03-05-2011, 09:29 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John F View Post
If someones name ends in an "s" (for example, Lois), and you want to show possession, would it be:

A) Lois' book
B) Lois's book

I say A), but I'm reading an ebook, and it has B).

Thanks.
The rule I was taught (some 1/2 century ago) was that if you sound an extra "s" when saying the word then you add the extra "s". Using that rule, and my pronunciation habits, I would use B.

But then again, there are a number of word forms that were common when I was learning all of this that are not used anymore and a number of spelling/punctuation patterns that have changed. You don't see "cannot" anymore and "can not" is used infrequently; "can't" is, in practice, fast becoming a word instead of a contraction of two words.
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Old 03-05-2011, 05:56 PM   #12
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Thank you, everyone.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Histerius View Post
Maybe John F is in fact Kelsey Grammer
I especially like Histerius'ssss post. Did I get that right?
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