08-13-2012, 09:35 PM | #1 |
Wizard
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HOw do you form the plural of a name?
Say I want to refer to a family, and would say something about Mr Dougherty and his various family members...
The Dougherteys like to eat fish The Dougherteys like to eat fish ?The Dougherteies like to eat fish The Doughertey's like to eat fish Thanks! |
08-13-2012, 09:53 PM | #2 | |
Layback feline
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The Dougherteys like to eat fish. Because family names can't be altered, and apostrophe is for possessive Disclaimer, English is my second language. |
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08-13-2012, 10:56 PM | #3 |
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For plural, use the same convention for proper nouns as you would for any other noun. So:
The Dougherteys like to eat fish. Typically a noun that ends in "s" gets an "es" at the end for the plural, so: The Joneses like to eat fish. It gets trickier when you use the possessive, especially with the possessive and plural together, and the extreme case with a family name that already ends in S with the possessive and plural together. I don't even try to remember what to do in this case. I just google it if I need it. (Try googling "plural possessive proper nouns") |
08-15-2012, 12:16 AM | #4 | |
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The rule is to usually use -s, but to use -es after a x, s, z, or a sibilant ch or sh. (Sibilant because "Here come the Churches, but where are the Johann Sebastian Bachs?) (This is all from Garner's American Usage.) |
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08-15-2012, 06:40 AM | #5 |
Wizard
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Thanks all! Dougherteys it will be!
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