Botching singular possessives that end in "s" and/or plural possessives
I still haven't figured out that one.
Lorne: My little prince. Oh…what did they do to you? Angel: Nina…tried to…eat me. Lorne: Oh, you're--medic! You're gonna make it Angel. Just don't stop fighting. Doctor! Is there a Gepetto in the house?
'Smile Time'
Natter 34: Freak With No Name
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Tom Scola - Apr 24, 2005 3:25:07 pm PDT #8591 of 10001
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
Susan W. - Apr 24, 2005 3:33:21 pm PDT #8592 of 10001
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights
Botching singular possessives that end in "s" and/or plural possessives
Now that I check my sources, the former actually is subject to interpretation--some say "James's book" is correct, others "James' book." I prefer the former, but will accept, grumbling, that opinions differ.
For a plural possessive, all you have to do is stick the apostrophe on the end--e.g. "students' books." But I've seen it done wrong more than right lately, and at a recent critique session, someone in my RWA chapter tried to correct me when I had it right.
Tom Scola - Apr 24, 2005 3:38:40 pm PDT #8593 of 10001
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
The rule of thumb I use is that if I sound it out and hear the "'s", then it should be there. I suspect that my methodology is flawed, though.
Topic!Cindy - Apr 24, 2005 3:38:45 pm PDT #8594 of 10001
What is even happening?
Now that I check my sources, the former actually is subject to interpretation--some say "James's book" is correct, others "James' book." I prefer the former, but will accept, grumbling, that opinions differ.I hate the former. I don't like how it sounds. I don't like how it looks. I wonder if there are 3rd grade grammar teachers responsible for our difference in opinion.
beekaytee - Apr 24, 2005 3:50:09 pm PDT #8595 of 10001
Compassionately intolerant
Thanks for the link Tommyrot. I'm embarking on a new push to finish writing my book and I'm ashamed to realize I routinely employ ALL those mistakes.
Good timing!
Emily - Apr 24, 2005 3:50:55 pm PDT #8596 of 10001
"In the equation E = mc⬧, c⬧ is a pretty big honking number." - Scola
Ooh! They're talking about the monkey-shit-coffee on CSI!
Susan W. - Apr 24, 2005 3:53:20 pm PDT #8597 of 10001
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights
I wonder if there are 3rd grade grammar teachers responsible for our difference in opinion.
Quite probably. I think I learned my way from Strunk & White, too, though I can't find my copy to prove it.
Nutty - Apr 24, 2005 3:57:35 pm PDT #8598 of 10001
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
It could be worse; we could be British, and consequently perplexed by every plural noun and whether it needs an apostrophe. Hint: Jeffs means more than one Jeff, while Jeff's means belonging to Jeff. (I gather a lot of Brits, especially those who work in advertising, don't know that.)
Whereas, both Jeffs' and Jeffs's means belonging to more than one Jeff. (I think the typographical issue of single and double quote marks is what caused there to be two right answers. Unlike Cindy, I prefer Jeffs's because of its doubling-up: you can tell just by looking that it's both plural and possessive. Admittedly, it's clunky, but who doesn't love teh clunky??)
If Jeffs were a last name, it could be Jeffses' meaning belonging to more than one member of the Jeffs family. Just be glad I didn't start this discussion with the name Sassafras.
Not to confuse the issue too much.
sumi - Apr 24, 2005 4:05:21 pm PDT #8599 of 10001
Art Crawl!!!
Stuntcasting alert!
Next week's Cold Case has Barry Bostwick guest-starring in a murder case revolving around, you guessed it!
A midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show!
JenP - Apr 24, 2005 4:06:43 pm PDT #8600 of 10001
I haven't seen Cold Case, but I love that.