Pamela H in Texas Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Okay, so say you have a name like Silas or James or Iris. You want to show possesion so you add the apostrophe. But how do you SAY it? Iris' dog is named Maya. Is it "Irises" or "Iris"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Ummmm I learned the singular possessive as adding 's even if the name ends in a letter S. My kids learned that way as well (private school, followed by MCT grammar for youngest). I would pronounce both as ending in "ses." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 That dog belongs to Iris. Its name is Maya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Irises and Jameses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I learned that you could add the apostrophe as 's or just ' after names ending in s. I marked the -ses pronunciations. But, what sounds "strange" to my ears is a name that ends in a s, is pronounced as a z sound, you make it possessive, and then it sounds like -zes. ex. Mercedes' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I would pronounce it "Irises" and "Jameses". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 I've been being told I'm wrong. I am now saying "ha!" And the argument is that there were a couple of you that agreed with them! The nerve! :) We have a child whose name ends in "s." So this has come up very regularly the last five and a half weeks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/apostrophes/apostrophes-with-words-ending-in-s/ This might be helpful to you; in the comments, one gets a feel for the evolutionary nature of punctuation. Bah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 This is so funny, I just looked for this the other day. Apparently there are arguments for both ways. Although for some reason several sites recommend Bible names as just adding the ' - Moses' and Jesus'. It's interesting that Bible names would get their own category! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 When a name ends with /s/, /z/, /sh/, or /ch/, to make it possessive you add 's, and you pronounce an extra syllable--es. Although there are arguments for writing it either way, IMHO it's more clear if you add 's instead of just the apostrophe. When those names are plurals, you add -es: irises, Jameses, Joneses, and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I pronounce the extra syllable. Our last name ends in tz, and my mouth hates it, lol. I do everything I can to title rather than posses. The "Spritz" kids vs the "Spritz's" kids. The Spritz house vs the Spritz's house. (I just bakes some spritz...es, lol.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna in North CA Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I say "Irises", but its James wagon...not Jameses. But that could just be my Oklahoma roots talking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbeym Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 When a name ends with /s/, /z/, /sh/, or /ch/, to make it possessive you add 's, and you pronounce an extra syllable--es. Although there are arguments for writing it either way, IMHO it's more clear if you add 's instead of just the apostrophe. When those names are plurals, you add -es: irises, Jameses, Joneses, and so on. It bugs me that the 's is becoming standard in this situation. I just think it looks wrong in a weird way. I guess I can stop marking it wrong on the kids' assignments though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 My maiden name ends in an s. We were always taught to just add the apostrophe. Unless you were talking about the whole family... add es Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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