Where do you put the apostrophe after names that end in S?

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Anonymous:

Is it Chris' book or Chris's book? I know some names that end in S require you to put the apostrophe after the S for possessive, but what is the exception to this rule?

Thanks

Approved answer (verified by CalifJim)

Mister Micawber:

.
Chris's book. Style manuals now require the 's' except for a few classic names: Jesus', Moses', Socrates'.
.

Veteran Member77,125

Approved answer (verified by CalifJim)

Mister Micawber:

Proper names have nothing to do with it, as non-native speakers sometimes get wrong. It is a matter of number: singular nouns get the 's, while plural nouns ending in s do not:

Charles's book
The schoolmistress's book

The Charleses' books (the two Charleses, King Charles the First and King Charles the Second)
The schoolmistresses' books

ALL REPLIES

rafaelinrio:

The correct form is Chris's book.

The thing is, when we have classical names and famous foreign names, usually Greek and Roman that refer to people that died a long time ago we use only the apostrophe, as Mrs Geist, my English teacher in middle school would always say.

e.g Pythagoras' Theorem
Jesus' disciples

In all the other cases add 's and you'll be right.

PS: Remember that when we have the plural form ending in S we add only the apostrophe.

e.g. The boys' room is upstairs.
The Blakes' new house....
The men's room is upstairs.

Full Member231

Anonymous:

It's Chris's book. For proper names, you add the apostrophe-s to the end. For other nouns, you'd put just an apostrophe at the end, so if you had a bunch of cats and they had beds, you say that those are the cats' beds, or if your parents shared a car, you would say it is your parents' car. However, for names you do put the apostrophe-s.

This is a good question, as this is something that even native english speakers often get wrong.

Anonymous:

I always teach the use of an 's' after an apostrophe if the extra 's' is pronounced as a separate syllable. Hence, at primary level, it's relatively easy to learn.

The dogs' bone (several dogs and there's only one 's' pronounced)

but

James's book (we pronounce the second 's' as a new syllable so it is needed to do a job)

In my experience, it's a simple and fairly accurate rule that children can then apply without having a detailed knowledge of grammar.

Anonymous:

None of the responses to your question are correct. Your question is: Do I add simply an apostrophe to words ending in "s" to indicate a possessive or do I add an apostrophe and an "s" to such words. Here's the answer.

If the word ending in an "s" has a "z" sound, e.g., "Adams," then you should add only an apostrophe, e.g., "That is Mr. Adams' car."

If the word ending in a "s" has an "s" sound, e.g., "Weiss," then you should add an apostrophe and an "s," e.g., "That is Mr. Weiss's car."

The idea is to convey the notion of possession without creating an awkward pronunciation. It's that simple!

Anonymous:

So if it´s the parents would it be parents´

Anonymous:

Right, most of the time.

My parents are tall. Correct.

My parent's parents are tall. Correct: my one parent has tall parents.

My parents' parents are tall. Correct: both of my parents have tall parents.

parents means two parents but does not show "ownership" or a "relationship"

parent's shows "ownership" by one parent

parents' shows "ownership" by two parents

The Z sound and S sound answer is correct.

Aristothanes' is s' because that name has a Z sound, not because it is old or important historically.

Philatosthenes' collar is ugly. Correct. That is my dog. Not old or important historically.

The bees' nest is on that tree. Many bees.

The bee's sting really hurts. One bee.

Randy Moss's touchdown catch was amazing.

Geoff Roes' time was amazing. (sounds like "rows")

Where do you put the apostrophe after names that end in S?

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