Rule 1: In general, you form a possessive singular noun (both proper and common)
by adding an apostrophe and the letter S to the end of the word
. That’s simple enough. It’s when the car belongs to a person named Chris, or we’re talking about the petals of a crocus that the rules get blurry.
Is it Chris’s or Chris ‘?
The truth is that
Chris takes just an apostrophe only
if you follow the rules in the The Associated Press Stylebook. In other style guides, Chris takes an apostrophe and an s: Chris’s.
How do you show possession with a name that ends in s?
Add -es for names ending in “s” or “z” and add -s for everything else. When indicating the possessive, if there is more than one owner add an apostrophe to the plural;
if there is one owner, add ‘s to the singular
(The Smiths’ car vs. Smith’s car).
Is it James or James’s?
Commentary: both
James
‘ birthday and James’s birthday are grammatically correct. Remember: it’s up to you! Use the version which best matches how you would pronounce it. Use James’s if you pronounce it “Jamesiz”, but use James’ if you pronounce it “James”.
How do you write the possessive form of a name ending in Z?
To form the possessive of a proper noun ending in an s or z sound, some people use
apostrophe + s
, as in Perez’s and Burns’s, and others prefer an apostrophe alone, as in Perez’ and Burns’s.
Is it Thomas or Thomas’s?
The important thing to remember is that
Thomas is singular
. When you’re talking about more than one, you first form that plural by adding -ES. One Thomas, two Thomases. Then, to note that something is owned by more than one Thomas, just take the plural and make it possessive: Thomases’.
Is it Jones or Jones’s?
Jones = Mr. Jones’s
. Some people favor adding only an apostrophe to a singular noun ending in s, but if you follow the rule, you can’t be wrong. If a plural noun does not end in an s, you must make it possessive by adding an apostrophe and an s: women’s; children’s.
What is the correct possessive form of Jesus?
So our advice is that if you pronounce the possessive form of “Jesus” as JEE-zus, add the apostrophe alone; but if you pronounce
it as JEE-zus-uz, then add ‘s
. This advice agrees with the recommendations of The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.), the guide widely used by both commercial and academic publishers.
What is the possessive form of the name James?
To form the possessive of a noun that ends in S, AP style has separate rules for proper names and generic nouns. For proper names like James, AP says, add an apostrophe only:
He borrowed James’ car
. For generics like boss, add an apostrophe plus S: He borrowed the boss’s car.
Which is correct the Smiths or the Smith’s?
Only use an apostrophe when you want to make a name possessive. (“From The Smith’s” is always wrong, but
“The party is at the Smiths’ house” is correct
.) This gets tricky if the last name ends in the letter “s.” To make a last name that ends in “s” plural, add “es” (so Reeves becomes Reeveses).
Is it Lucas’s or Lucas?
Now, it seems common usage prefers the additional “s” after the apostrophe: i.e.
Lucas’s breakfast
. Discuss: the correct way to use a possessive apostrophe with a singular proper noun ending in the letter “s” is to use only the apostrophe. i.e. Lucas’ breakfast.
Is it Davis or Davis’s?
According to Grammarbook.com, the nerds of the world will argue heatedly on the subject for eternity, but the most roundly accepted rule is to include the apostrophe, along with an extra “S.” (
Davis’s
rather than Davis’).
How do you make Z possessive?
To form the possessive of a proper noun ending in an s or z sound, some people use
apostrophe + s
, as in Perez’s and Burns’s, and others prefer an apostrophe alone, as in Perez’ and Burns’s.
What is the possessive form of Ross?
It’s also acceptable to add only an apostrophe to the end of singular nouns that end in “s” to make them possessive. In this case, you can show possession for Ross in either of two ways:
Ross’ room
.
Ross’s sports team
.
Is there an apostrophe after a name ending in s?
Second, a name ending in s
takes only an apostrophe if the possessive form
What is the plural form of Harris?
The plural of Harris is
Harrises
. There is no apostrophe.
