Possessive forms of plural nouns The possessive case of plural nouns that end in s is formed by adding an apostrophe: This is the boys' bedroom. My parents' house is a lovely old one.
The Associated Press Stylebook says the correct way to write the possessive case of Chris is Chris', not Chris's. Other style guides, including the Chicago Manual of Style, say Chris's is correct. If there isn't a specific guidebook you need to follow, you can use either Chris' or Chris's.
If you're going with The Associated Press Stylebook, James' is the correct way of writing James in the possessive form. But, for all other style guides, James's is the way to go.
If the name ends in s, z, ch, or sh, you need to add es. That means the Davis family becomes the Davises, the French family becomes the Frenches, the Hernandez family becomes the Hernandezes, and the Glaves family becomes the Glaveses. If the name ends in x, also add es—unless the x is silent.
The plural of Jones is Joneses, ‐es being added as an indicator of the plurality of a word of which the singular form ends in s, as in dresses or messes. The apposition of the much misused apostrophe to the word Jones does not pluralize it.
Only use an apostrophe when you want to make a name possessive. ("From The Smith's" is always wrong, but "The party is at the Smiths' house" is correct.) This gets tricky if the last name ends in the letter "s." To make a last name that ends in "s" plural, add "es" (so Reeves becomes Reeveses).
Remember: the only time you add an apostrophe to a last name is if you are making your last name possessive. For example, "That is the Gamels' house on the corner." Thanks for reading! *STEVE GAMEL is the Owner/President of Edit This, a writing and editing services company located in Denton, TX.
First, make the noun Williams into a plural: Williamses. Then add the possessive apostrophe according to the rules that gave us “the cats' tails.” That gives us “We had dinner at the Williamses' house last year.”
All names ending in s become plural by adding es. Make it the Williamses. To show possession, add just an apostrophe: Williamses'. The house belonging to the Williams family is the Williamses' house.
The important thing to remember is that Thomas is singular. When you're talking about more than one, you first form that plural by adding -ES. One Thomas, two Thomases. Then, to note that something is owned by more than one Thomas, just take the plural and make it possessive: Thomases'.
Their practice is that any time a words ends in "s," you put an apostrophe after the "s" to make it possessive.
Both James' and James's are grammatically correct.
Certain academic writing styles prefer one version over the other, but it doesn't matter which one you use in your regular, written English.
Remember: it's up to you! Use the version which best matches how you would pronounce it. Use James's if you pronounce it "Jamesiz", but use James' if you pronounce it "James".
The possessive
Quick Use: Use an apostrophe + s for singular nouns (sea, sky), common nouns ending with s (tigress, mistress), and irregular plural nouns (women, children). Use only the apostrophe for proper nouns ending with s (Tess, Jesus, Texas) and regular plural nouns (cars, protestors).
According to the Chicago Manual of Style (which folks in my profession refer to as the Bible of Book Publishing), the rule is the same as any other singular possessive. You write her name with possession just like you say it: Alexis's. (Yes, I know it looks funny to those of us who aren't editors.)
John Brooks is a singular proper noun and as a possessive is either John Brooks' or John Brooks's.
Use 's for the possessive of singular nouns that end in s:
Charles's books, Dickens's novels, actress's script. Note: If a singular noun ending in s is followed by a word beginning with s, use only the apostrophe, not the 's. For example, Charles' shirt.
When you meet up with another Harris, we have two Harrises. If you're married, your spouse is Bob Harris's wife. You and your family live in the Harrises' abode. Singulars ending in "s" form the possessive with an apostrophe followed by an "s."
To form the possessive of a noun that ends in S, AP style has separate rules for proper names and generic nouns. For proper names like James, AP says, add an apostrophe only: He borrowed James' car. For generics like boss, add an apostrophe plus S: He borrowed the boss's car.
When making your last name plural, you don't need to add an apostrophe! The apostrophe makes the name possessive. The last letter of your last name will determine if you add an “-s” or an “-es”. If your last name ends in -s, -z, -ch, -sh, or -x, you add -es to your last name to make it plural.
Like any noun ending in S, the plural adds -ES, so one James, two Jameses. For possessive, just add an apostrophe: Jameses'. This formation common for last names (“keeping up with the Joneses' spending habits”) but can also be used for first names.
Use the apostrophe + s after the second name if two people possess the same item. Otherwise, use an apostrophe after each name. Never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns: his, hers, its, theirs, ours, yours, whose. They already show possession.
The apostrophe has three uses: 1) to form possessive nouns; 2) to show the omission of letters; and 3) to indicate plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols. Do not use apostrophes to form possessive pronouns (i.e. his/her computer) or noun plurals that are not possessives.
Although autocorrect likes to insert an apostrophe-s when you type an s or es to make your noun plural, it is incorrect and you should go back and correct it: the Rodriguezes.
The plurals of last names are just like the plurals of most nouns. They typically get formed by adding -s. Except, that is, if the name already ends in s or z. Then the plural is formed by adding -es.