It can be tricky to address a plural family if their last name ends in an S, X, Z, CH, or SH. I was wondering if you can help me. Copyright by Jane Straus/GrammarBook.com. In order to show plural possession, first make the singular word plural, then add the apostrophe: singular: county, plural: counties, plural possessive: counties’. Adding an apostrophe makes the last name possessive, which is unnecessary in this case. See our post Apostrophes with Names Ending in s, ch, or z. Instead, just add s. Are the Church’es/Churches/Churche’s your friends? Should you change the name to Murphies? Examples: Don't need hundreds of grammar, punctuation, and English usage quizzes all at once? I object strongly to five-year anniversary. Exceptions are generally listed in Webster’s. One of us believes “counties” doesn’t show possession and thinks it should be “county’s.”. If the Kennedies’/Kennedys’/Kennedy’s home comes up for sale, I will buy it. ... you don't need to use an apostrophe to make it plural. Given how other English words ending in y form their plurals, you would think so. the Daley family → the Daleys. According to the note under Rule 2 in the “Apostrophes” section, “Although names ending in s or an s sound are not required to have the second s added in possessive form, it is preferred.” Therefore, the preferred way to write it is Marcus’s birthday. The written form reflects the pronunciation. The rule for making proper nouns plural – whether you’re dealing with a first name or a last name, is to add an s. With names ending in s, sh, ch, x, or z, you add es to make it plural. With both my first and last name ending in “s”, I have paid close attention to the “right” way to express the possessive for a name ending in “s”. Mary’s dog is very friendly. I visited the Murphys last weekend. The following is from the Chicago Manual of Style’s Rule 7.9: Names of persons and other capitalized nouns normally form the plural by adding s or es. Likewise, with awards, it is far more likely to be the Milly Award than the Milly’s Award, but logic does not always prevail in these matters. In order to show plural possession, first make the singular word plural, then add the apostrophe: singular: County, plural: Counties, plural possessive: Counties’.”, “Martin County” is a proper noun and “St. 5. Your email address will not be published. Unlike regular nouns that end in y, names that end in y are also made plural by adding -s: the Kennedy clan → the Kennedys . As we note under the “About Jane” tab on the website, the GrammarBook.com staff is fulfilling Jane’s wishes by maintaining the activities of the website. Examples: 8. Plural possessive: Patti greatly admires the Petruccianis’ garden. puppy / puppies Do not form a family name plural by using an apostrophe; that device is reserved for creating possessive forms. Also, they argue you are not to use “house” or “family.” For example, when addressing a card to an entire family or household, to the Thomas’ is appropriate. Gracie Jane’s, or Gracie Janes, or should it be Gracie Janes’? You should use fifth anniversary. ¶ Over 1.5 million copies sold! (Smiths' is the possessive form of the plural proper noun Smiths. Ken Smith ’s house I know the Smith s, the Smith s’ house February 25, 2011? This one doesn’t really seem to apply because sorry is not a proper noun. The original word is Milnerton which we’ve shortened to Milly, if we were to name our pub would it be The Millies Arms or The Milly’s Arms? There are three Loises in our family. supply / supplies. O’Dells neck of the woods or O’Dell’s neck of the woods? Singular possessive: I have to leave now for an appointment at Dr. Petrucciani’s office. Therefore the correct sentence is Martin and St. Lucie counties’ best children’s clothing store is hiring! Remembering Jane Straus | May 18, 1954—February 25, 2011 | Author of the original Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, How do you form the plural of a proper noun that ends in y such as Murphy? Is there another one that would work for “sorrys,” rather than “sorries,” or is “sorrys” just a complete misspelling? If you are referring to the full O’Dell family, the possessive is written the O’Dells’. The sign should therefore read “The Addamses,” or “The Addamses’ house.” ... 5 Responses to “Where to Place the Possessive Apostrophe in a Surname” ... As someone with a surname ending in s, I usually add an apostrophe after the s to indicate possession. Sundays “Beauty’s where you find it…” -Vogue by Madonna Possessive nouns show ownership. If you wish to respond to another reader's question or comment, please click its corresponding "REPLY" button. so if it's a vowel before the 'y' then the plural form will always end in 's'. Pakistani, pl. Rule: To show the plural of a name that ends in s, ch, or z, add es. If the Kennedies’/Kennedys’/Kennedy’s home comes up for sale, I will buy it. I don't know how you pluralise a last name. ... Plural possessive wouldn’t work if only one person lived in the residence. Apostrophes are used to show possession. The rules for pluralization, singular possession, and plural possession are the same as the rules for names ending in y: Plural: Coincidentally, there are three Pattis performing in that band. 6. Required fields are marked *. Either one is grammatically correct. The report clarified Perkins’ job evaluation. Instead, just add s. If the family’s name is Brown, write either The Brown family or The Browns. If “Christmas at the Fairweathers” refers to a celebration taking place at the home of the Fairweather family, should the last word then be a plural possessive i.e. Example: I petted Mrs. Murphy’s cat. The result looks and “sounds to the eye” (so to speak) rather strange, as though it should rhyme with “hiss” when read aloud. How do you make the last name Woods plural possessive? The apostrophe can be used in plural abbreviations as in the team logo of the Oakland A's. 1. To show the possessive plurals of proper names ending in s, such as Hastings and Jones. • The Lopezes have been married for 50 years. For example, below are the plural forms of the names Myers, Daniels, Forlines, and Collins: Myerses Danielses Forlineses Collinses Form the plural possessive of these names by adding an apostrophe after the final s: the Myerses’ house the Danielses’ cat the Forlineses’ car the Collinses’ boat Read … Moneys naturally follows that pattern. I visited the Murphys’ store on Main Street. Required fields are marked *. The rules for pluralization, singular possession, and plural possession are the same as the rules for names ending in y: Plural: Coincidentally, there are three Pattis performing in that band. The same rule is confirmed by the following sources: Pluralisation of surnames: Would it be ..skis or ..skies? In fact, I was one of five women named Brenda in my basic training company. We have two Zacharys in our office. We are happy to help. Our blog Apostrophes with Names Ending in s, ch, or z says, “To show the plural of a name that ends in s, ch, or z, add es.” Therefore, write the Carneses. According to the Note under Rule 2 in the “Apostrophes” section of Grammarbook.com, “Although names ending in s or an s sound are not required to have the second s added in possessive form, it is preferred.” Therefore, Mike James’s tickets would be the preferred spelling. If you drop “the,” you could make it “Milly’s Arms,” which comes off as a playful pub name. Do not change the spelling of a name to make it plural. These days, however, monies is in fact the more common spelling.”, Please ensure that your question or comment relates to the topic of the blog post. Depending on the last letter of the name, simply add –s or –es. Names that end in Y confuse people too because many generic words that end in Y, like “berry,” form the plural with “ies,” as in “berries.” Proper nouns don’t work that way. Plural possessive: Patti greatly admires the Petruccianis’ garden. Form the plural of family names ending in s by adding es. Most names, including ending with vowel or y Add ’s for possessive, s for plural, and s’ for possessive plural. (This is also true for other questions of style.) So we go to visit the Smiths, the Kennedys, the Grays, etc.When a family name ends in s, x, ch, sh, or z, however, we form the plural by added -es, as in the Marches, the Joneses, the Maddoxes, the Bushes, the Rodriguezes. Please see the post Apostrophes with Names Ending in s, ch, or z for our response. Please see our blog Apostrophes with Names Ending in s, ch, or z for our response. You can now purchase the same interactive, downloadable subscription quizzes individually. The Guardian-Observer SG seems to make more sense: 'The possessive … 5. If the Kennedys’ home comes up for sale, I will buy it. That is correct. ), “We are happy to help. Tom, Dick, and Harry; pl. Italics? However, proper nouns are not pluralized the same way common nouns are. Mr & Mrs McCulloch are the McCullochs. You have a point, but also see this New York Times article. Our last name is Paradis (the s is silent) how would we pluralize this? Noun is a singular possessive: I have, literally, seen it both ways, online in. Kennedys/Kennedies/Kennedy ’ s profanities ’ vileness assaults saints ’ souls sorely. ” Yes as correct.... 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'S question or comment, please click its corresponding `` REPLY '' button find! Let ’ s that end in 's ' we, very much “... Sign up to receive the FREE weekly GrammarBook.com E-Newsletter the Brown family the. Biblical, etc the Clancys, not the Kennedies ’ /Kennedys ’ /Kennedy ’ home... The O ’ Dell ’ s used in this case adding an apostrophe in future... Before the ' y ' then the s. Example: I have, literally, seen it both,. Wood and not Woods would someone know that our surname is Wood and Woods!
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