Possessive ending in s grammar girl books

Apostrophes and plurals grammar girl quick and dirty tips. A 1772 edition of joseph priestleys the rudiments of english grammar, for example, says the possessive is formed by adding s with an apostrophe before it to a singular noun. Traditional grammar books from before 1950 advocated for texass based on spelling. He was most skilled in satire, as shown in his most famous works, such as gullivers travels a take on the tales of adventure common at the time and a modest proposal in which he propos. The possessive case is used to express that something belongs to someone or to show a relationship between two or more people. Classically, it is not correct to just add an apostrophe to a last name that already ends in s if it is singular possessive. I have never heard of an apostrophe following an x with no s following it. Ive always heard that when talking about stuff belonging to either a jones or many jones, youd write jones pronounced joneses. We show this ownership by adding an apostrophe and an s to the noun if the noun is a person or an animal. What is the origin of the s suffix for possessive case in. Possessive singular of nouns ending in s, english grammar.

For a detailed explanation of how to show the plural of names ending in s, ch, or z, please see apostrophes with names ending in s. How to make names that end in s plural grammar girl. Author of the original blue book of grammar and punctuation. We cannot usually use a possessive word before another determiner and a noun.

Showing possession with words ending in s march 28, 2016 march 28, 2016 lisa j. Grammatical case is a feature of a noun that shows the nouns. Many argue that they have no place at all in formal writing. The following are acceptable spellings for these names ending in s.

For instance, city becomes cities, and baby becomes babies. Compound possession grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. Possessive pronouns are never spelled with apostrophes. Therefore, the singular possessive would be cosmos s.

Singular common nouns ending in s also define a possessive relationship by adding s to the end of the word. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. Johns dog, the schools mascot, her parents mistakes. Jonathan swift was, to say the least, an important author. I am aware that if the word ends with an s you would normally add an. You simply add s to the end, just as you would for a persons name.

The s possessive is generally used only with nouns referring to animate items. Ill end this part today with an overview of the word that caused me such. It is also the rule of the chicago manual of style and other leading style books. Possessives of nouns this article is about possessives of nouns enjoy your reading. The form girl s is the possessive form of the singular noun girl. For example, one would say that is doloress car, but you would say that is the lions pen.

But in 1763, in his introduction to english grammar, robert lowth introduced the term objective for use instead of accusative, and explicitly endorsed the word possessive instead of genitive. But recently ive stumbled upon a book which consistently uses. It was called the genitive until the 18th century and in fact expresses much more than. Explanations and interactive exercises on grammar parts of speech and sentence structure nouns possessive sgenitive. The nearest latin case to what we call the possessive was called the genitive.

The chicago manual of style, the ap stylebook, garners modern american usage, and the cambridge. A new victorias secret ad abuses an apostrophe, but unfortunately, its a common error. Possessives of nouns ending in s grammar underground. Not the father of peter peter and mary s car is red my cat s ears are white we also use the possessive s to talk about shops and houses. Mignon fogarty better known as grammar girl, for example, prefers to leave the extra s off. When writing the possessive form of almost all other singular nouns, the writer is instructed to add an apostrophe followed by an s at the end of the word. The possessive form of a noun or pronoun is used to show ownership. There are a few different ways to form the possessive of a noun. In many areas of life, such cavalier carelessness is a bad idea.

But the chicago manual of style says that forming the possessive with names ending in s is just like forming the possessive with names that dont end in s. What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in. Never use an apostrophe with plural possessive pronouns like his, hers, its, yours, or theirs. Want to know when to use the apostrophe and when to skip it. Heres the scoop on when to use apostrophes to make things plural. Why its bridget joness not jones baby grammar girl. So apostrophes for the possessive case was initially meant to show that the e. The possessive forms of plural nouns are formed in one of two ways. Theyre not leatherbound containers for your grammar books and dictionaries. These can play the roles of determiners also called possessive adjectives when corresponding to a pronoun or of nouns for historical reasons, this case is misleadingly called the possessive case. Form the possessive of all singular nouns, even those ending in. For example, boat becomes boats, or hat becomes hats.

For names ending in the letter s, either just or s is acceptable, although i believe that s is more common with the plain being reserved for plurals that end in s. Want to find out more about english grammar usage possessives. To form the possessive of a singular noun that does not end in s. But in this case, not thinking is actually better than thinking. Some people say to always add an apostrophe and an s to the end of the singular word.

If the noun is plural, or already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s. And the uncertainty is often greatest when the first word is a plural ending in s. According to rule 1 in this apostrophes with words ending in s blog, to show singular possession for a word ending in an s or s sound, use the apostrophe and another s. Grammar index possessive singular of nouns ending in s to home page. Dominant, possessive, jealous, controlling, sometimes scary but always hot. Is the possessive form of texas written as texass or. Apostrophes with names ending in s, ch, or z grammar and. A dog is a living creature, so we can use the possessive. Possessive meaning in the cambridge english dictionary.

But if a word isnt possessive, does it sometimes get an. Jesuss or jesus prime minister of mauritiuss speech or prime minister of mauritius speech. Now, there are some simple rules about how to use the apostrophe s. When a singular proper noun ends in s, add an apostrophe to the end of the word and leave off. A possessive modifier is a possessive form of noun or pronoun added to another noun to show something other than possession. You should, of course, observe your publishers or instructors requirements. We can say my cat, their cat, a cat or that cat, but not a my cat or that my cat. When did it become correct to add an s to a singular possessive already ending in s. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and.

When we have a singular noun, we just add an apostrophe s like we have already seen. Examples include the ducks quack, the girl s doll, and the mans son. Possessive s most nouns form the plural by adding s or es. I dont think that im revealing a big grammar secret by letting you know that the possessive of a singular name is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s. Possessive pronouns show that something belongs to someone. The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals.

The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. A noun ending with a consonant and the letter y forms the plural by adding ies. We use the word of if there is a relation between two or more things. You should, of course, observe your publisher s or instructor s requirements. Many writers make the mistake of adding just an apostrophe to form the possessive of singular nouns ending in. It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice.

Forming possessives with singular names by tyler krupa. Possessive of proper names ending in s daily writing tips. Most people regularly write stuff like we went to jamess house without stopping to think whether it should be james house. We know that we add an apostrophe to show possession or ownership with nouns. I prefer the cmos, and im glad to know that it now recommends adding s for plurals ending in s. When the plural of the noun in question ends in s e. Showing possession through nouns easy learning grammar possession can be shown in two ways. It shows a relationship of belonging between one thing and another. To show singular possession of a name ending in s or z, some writers add just an. Pauls, julies, mikes, and susans are all possessive nouns. Are you confused about how to show the plural and the possessive of certain names. How to make singular and plural words that end with s possessive.

When final s is silent as in many french names, s must of course be added in the possessive. Forming possessives with singular names apa style blog. The possessive form can sound strange if you use it to talk about things that arent alive inanimate objects. They usually argued words that end spelled with the letter would take the s genitive. To show singular possession of a name ending in s or z, some writers add. Apostrophes with words ending in s grammar and punctuation. In english, possessive words or phrases exist for nouns and most pronouns, as well as some noun phrases. The possessive pronouns are my, our, your, his, her, its, and their. See also our rules for apostrophes and the post apostrophes with words ending in s. On the use of socalled zero genitive, marked by a simple apostrophe in spelling, and the s possessive with nouns ending with an s, quirk, greenbaum, leech and svartvik specify in a comprehensive grammar of the english language pp. The grammatically correct way to write your sentence is i want to be buzzs girl.