Buki Box

How do you show possession on words that already end in s?

For me, this is like figuring out where to place quotation marks in relation to commas and periods. I have never really settled on it; I'm always questioning it. Sometimes one particular method seems suitable. Other times not.

As I recall, William Strunk says to add 's to all those words unless the word refers to someone from ancient times, like those ancient Greek tailors, Euripides and Eumendides. Their possessives simply add the apostrophe: Euripides'  trousers and Eumendides'  trousers. The same would go for names like Moses and Artemis.

Consider this: Don't add the s if you don't want the reader to hear you saying it in their mind. That is, add the s only if you actually say it that way yourself. 

For example, 

• Most people say, "for goodness' sake," which, like "in Jesus' name," is a possessive. Just add the apostrophe.

• Mr. Rogers famously has a neighborhood. We've all learned to write and say the possessive without adding an s. It's just Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

• Other possessives aren't as well known. Some people say, "Dobbses Mill" instead of "Dobbs Mill," so they should add the extra s: Dobbs' s Mill.

• I would say, "The grackle is Texas' de facto state bird." But many other Texans would say, "The grackle is Texas's de facto state bird."*

• By way of preparing you for the last example, I think most people would say these two phrases the same way but spell them like this:

  • • the boss's way of doing things (one boss) and

    • the bosses' way of doing things (more than one boss).

• That leads us at last to the greatest nightmare in mixing plurals and possessives.** I would pronounce these two phrases the same way but write them as:

  • • Jones's house (one Jones) and

    • Joneses' house (many Joneses).

You just say the possessive out loud and see if you add another s sound to the end. If not, don't add the s.

__________

*  The mockingbird is Texas' de jure state bird.

** Actually, the nightmare is that way too many people spell the plural of Jones by adding an apostrophe, so that it looks like the possessive. It should be: The Joneses.