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.
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!
I haven't seen
Cold Case,
but I
love
that.
Whereas, both Jeffs' and Jeffs's means belonging to more than one Jeff.
It does? I thought Jeffs' meant belonging to more than one Jeff, while Jeffs's meant belonging to one person who happened to be named Jeffs.
I'd have gone the same route as Susan. Also, how does being British affect it? (Unless I've just answered Susan's question right there.)
I'm having a dinner crisis. I have leftover chicken and broccoli enchiladas, and I really want to eat them, but I also really want to take them for lunch tomorrow. Not enough left to do both. Feh.
Brits add a lot of unnecessary apostrophes, or anyway do in their advertising and commercial signage.
I think Susan's question points to the fact that you may be named Jeffs, and own something; and you may be two people named Jeff, and own something; and both situations may use the same word. Can't they?
Aren't you glad now I didn't call him Sassafras? And gladder still that I used italics instead of quote marks, which was my original impulse.
I think Susan's question points to the fact that you may be named Jeffs, and own something; and you may be two people named Jeff, and own something; and both situations may use the same word. Can't they?
Not the way I learned it. Which doesn't mean it's an absolute law, but if I wrote Jeffs', I'd absolutely mean belonging to two or more guys named Jeff, while Jeffs's would just as definitely mean belonging to one guy named Jeffs.
Oof, long drive, but I am home, in Belmont, and I have my wireless working.
I thought Nutty was referring to strictly British rules with her "Jeffs's" example.
Not the way I learned it. Which doesn't mean it's an absolute law, but if I wrote Jeffs', I'd absolutely mean belonging to two or more guys named Jeff, while Jeffs's would just as definitely mean belonging to one guy named Jeffs.
This is how I learned it, too. I didn't think Jeffs's was possible in a two Jeff situation, although as the flip side of Susan's coin, I would have understood it to mean something belonging to a guy named Jeffs, and the format would have bugged me.
