Should we say "Moses'" and "Jesus'" and so on?
When I learnt English as a second language long long time ago, I remember that I was taught that only plural nouns ending with a letter 's' should have only an apostrophe not any noun ending with an "'s", to refer to something that belongs to the subject.
Nowadays I often see they write like the examples I gave in the subject, only the apostrophe for all nouns that end with an s, be they singular or plural.
I would like to hear some comments. Thanks!
Top answer
Standard grammar for (singular) names is to add 's to show the possessive, this would result in Jesus's sandals and Moses's staff. " So, both are correct.
- Standard grammar for (singular) names is to add 's to show the possessive, this would result in Jesus's sandals and Moses's staff.
- " So, both are correct.
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Standard grammar for (singular) names is to add 's to show the possessive, this would result in Jesus's sandals and Moses's staff.
However, Collins COBUILD English Usage has this to say: "In formal writing, the possessive of a name ending in s is sometimes formed by adding an apostrophe (')."
So, both are correct.
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