Apostrophes

Ollie Saunders · Feb 25, 2013

Can someone tell me whether I’ve got this correct?

Code:

* Word not ending in S

|                | Singular | Plural |
|----------------+----------+--------|
| Possessive     | John’s   | Johns’ |
| Not Possessive | John     | Johns  |

* Word ending in S

|                | Singular  | Plural      |
|----------------+-----------+-------------|
| Possessive     | Octopus’s | Octopuses’s |
| Not Possessive | Octopus   | Octopuses   |

JulianneQJohnson · Feb 25, 2013

That isn't as simple a question as it seems. I recommend the following website:

Possessive form of singular nouns ending in S

Chase · Feb 25, 2013

Ollie Saunders said:

Can someone tell me whether I’ve got this correct?

Code:

* Word not ending in S

|                | Singular | Plural |
|----------------+----------+--------|
| Possessive     | John’s   | Johns’ |
| Not Possessive | John     | Johns  |

* Word ending in S

|                | Singular  | Plural      |
|----------------+-----------+-------------|
| Possessive     | Octopus’s | Octopuses’s |
| Not Possessive | Octopus   | Octopuses   |

Ollie,

While I'm sure some may disagree, your placement of the possessive apostrophe and non-possessives are the same as mine.

John's house is green.
The johns' line under the red light was long.
John enjoyed a happy life.
The bar had six johns for customers who couldn't hold their beer.

The octopus's tentacles numbered only seven.
Our three octopuses's aquarium is too small.
But we don't want only one octopus per habitat.
Three octopuses need a larger tank.

Other rules apply to other specifics (and better examples are surely available).

Maryn · Feb 25, 2013

I thought the plural was octopi. Not that I have occasion to discuss them in numbers beyond one.

Do you want to deal with more than one of these? (One minute, safe for work.)

Maryn, who couldn't find the one she wanted

Ollie Saunders · Feb 25, 2013

JulianneQJohnson said:
That isn't as simple a question as it seems. I recommend the following website:

Possessive form of singular nouns ending in S

I say bah to exceptions. Bah!
Thanks anyhow.

While I'm sure some may disagree, your placement of the possessive apostrophe and non-possessives are the same as mine.

John's house is green.
The johns' line under the red light was long.
John enjoyed a happy life.
The bar had six johns for customers who couldn't hold their beer.

The octopus's tentacles numbered only seven.
Our three octopuses's aquarium is too small.
But we don't want only one octopus per habitat.
Three octopuses need a larger tank.

Thanks. I’ll add those nice usage examples to my little reference.

I thought the plural was octopi.

That’s a common misconception, I believe.

On a side note: aw I love octopuses!

King Neptune · Feb 25, 2013

Ollie Saunders said:
That’s a common misconception, I believe.

On a side note: aw I love octopuses!

octopus

Use Octopus in a sentence
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oc·to·pus

[ok-tuh-puh

s] Show IPA
noun, plural oc·to·pus·es, oc·to·pi [-pahy] Show IPA . 1. any octopod of the genus Octopus, having a soft, oval body and eight sucker-bearing arms, living mostly at the bottom of the sea.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/octopus?s=t

But they also have:
Word Origin & History

octopus
1758, genus name of a type of eight-armed cephalopod mollusks, from Gk. oktopous "eight-footed," from okto "eight" (see eight) + pous "foot." Proper plural is octopodes, though octopuses probably works better in English. Octopi is from mistaken assumption that -us is the L.

If I remember this, then I will start using octopodes whenever I discuss multiple octopus.

absitinvidia · Feb 25, 2013

Chase said:
Our three octopuses's aquarium is too small.

Just double-checking: shouldn't the "s" after the apostrophe be omitted for the plural form?

Our three octopuses' aquarium is too small.

Raison · Feb 25, 2013

Chase said:
Our three octopuses's aquarium is too small.

The plural possessive of a word ending in "s" should not have an extra "s" after the apostrophe.

Maryn said:
I thought the plural was octopi.

Either is correct.

Raison · Feb 25, 2013

absitinvidia said:
Just double-checking: shouldn't the "s" after the apostrophe be omitted for the plural form?

Our three octopuses' aquarium is too small.

Yes.

Ollie Saunders · Feb 25, 2013

The plural possessive of a word ending in "s" should not have an extra "s" after the apostrophe.

Ah that makes a lot more sense.

Chase · Feb 25, 2013

absitinvidia said:
Just double-checking: shouldn't the "s" after the apostrophe be omitted for the plural form?

Our three octopuses' aquarium is too small.

Absitinvidia, Raison, and Ollie:

It can be omitted, but another, older form is still correct and preferred by many, publishers included from recent novels I've read:

From Purdue Owl:

Add 's to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in -s):

The owner's car

James's hat (James' hat is also acceptable. For plural, proper nouns that are possessive, use an apostrophe after the 's': "The Eggleses' presentation was good." The Eggleses are a husband and wife consultant team.)

This is kind of like the damn/damned duality discussed a while ago; both are correct. I believe Ollie asked if his version was correct, not about alternatives.

Raison · Feb 25, 2013

Chase said:
Absitinvidia, Raison, and Ollie:

It can be omitted, but another, older form is still correct and preferred by many, publishers included from recent novels I've read:

From Purdue Owl:

Add 's to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in -s):

The owner's car

James's hat (James' hat is also acceptable. For plural, proper nouns that are possessive, use an apostrophe after the 's': "The Eggleses' presentation was good." The Eggleses are a husband and wife consultant team.)

This is kind of like the damn/damned duality discussed a while ago; both are correct. I believe Ollie asked if his version was correct, not about alternatives.

This is entirely different from what is being discussed here.

Yes, of course, you can add 's to make a singular noun that ends in -s, such as James, possessive. I prefer that myself. However, the error to which absitinvidia and I were referring dealt with a plural noun. You wrote,

Our three octopuses's aquarium is too small.

"Octopuses" is a plural noun. In order to make it possessive, you simply add an apostrophe.

From Purdue Owl:

add 's to the plural forms that do not end in -s:
the children's game
the geese's honking
add ' to the end of plural nouns that end in -s:
two cats' toys
three friends' letters
the countries' laws

Xelebes · Feb 25, 2013

The Canadian Style:

7.56 Possession gives:

No terminal s is to follow an apostrophe in a possessive, plural or not, which already has a terminal s present. This is not a lift from the reference, so use the reference to see how it is explained if you think I goofed up. Just giving one an example of a reference.

Raison · Feb 25, 2013

Xelebes said:
The Canadian Style:

7.56 Possession gives:

No terminal s is to follow an apostrophe in a possessive, plural or not, which already has a terminal s present. This is not a lift from the reference, so use the reference to see how it is explained if you think I goofed up. Just giving one an example of a reference.

I'm not very familiar with Canadian English, but your link says that 's can sometimes be used to form possessives of singular nouns that end in -s:

Regarding the appropriate form for singular words that end in a sibilant, pronunciation is again the determining factor. If it would be natural to pronounce an extra s, add ’s; if an additional s would be difficult to pronounce, add only an apostrophe:

Joyce’s Ulysses

Ulysses’ wanderings

Brussels’ bureaucrats

the boss’s office

The rule given is very similar to what I was taught in American English.

Chase · Feb 25, 2013

For possessives of words ending in s, the universal s' certainly is easier to remember.

Maryn · Feb 26, 2013

[Maryn leans back in her chair, content to be in a place where people's feathers get ruffled over such matters.]

Maryn, fully at home

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