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Tenacious Learner Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Which one is correct?

Hi teachers,
Which one is correct?
a) Kenny and Bobbi are the septuplets’ teachers.
b) Kenny and Bobbi are the septuplets’s teachers.

Thanks in advance.
  

Top answer

This issue has come up over the years, so that I put the following together a couple of years ago. There are four ways to use the apostrophe to show ownership or belonging. 1.

— Terryxpress

  • This issue has come up over the years, so that I put the following together a couple of years ago.
  • There are four ways to use the apostrophe to show ownership or belonging.
  • 1.
  • Add apostrophe 's' to the end of a singular noun that does not end in 's': the children = the children's room Karl Marx = Karl Marx's theories 2.
  • Add apostrophe 's' to the end of a singular noun , even if it ends in 's' Doris = Doris’s scarf James = James's book the boss = the boss's book Charles Dickens = Charles Dickens’ novels Mr.
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14 Answers
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This issue has come up over the years, so that I put the following together a couple of years ago.

There are four ways to use the apostrophe to show ownership or belonging.
1. Add apostrophe 's' to the end of a singular noun that does not end in 's':
the children = the children's room
Karl Marx = Karl Marx's theories

2. Add apostrophe 's'
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Hi Terryxpress,
Thank YOU for your reply.
It really is a detailed and very good explanation!

Best,
TS
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Hi,

Assuming septuplet has a regular plural, septuplets, then just add an apostrophe to form the genitive.

septuplets'

The same principle applies to all (proper) nouns that take the genitive and have regular plurals ending in -s.

- DJB -
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Hi dokterjokkebrok,
Thank you so much for your reply too.
So all plural regular common nouns ending witn an '-s' we just add the apostrophe to form the genitive.

Best,
TS
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TerryxpressJohn and Mary Harris own their own home = the Harris' homeditto the Jones' home
The plural of Harris is Harrises, hence: the Harrises' home. (And of course the Joneses' home.)

CB
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I drew on authorative sources at the time of writing the above; and perhaps it is that style manuals such as Associative Press and others follow them, so as to avoid the eyeful that is Joneses' home.
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I see. I won't use the Jones' home, though, and it wouldn't be accepted if a student wrote it in a nationwide English exam in Finland. What prompted me to **** in was your advice to add just an apostrophe after a plural s. I always thought the s in Harris and Jones was not a plural s. If it were, the singular forms would be Harri and Jone.

Style
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Hi,

Well, as a rule of thumb, always use 's except with plural nouns ending in -s.


John's
James's (only apostrophe also possible, but for simplicity's sake, I'
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What prompted me to **** in was your advice to add just an apostrophe after a plural s. I always thought the s in Harris and Jones was not a plural s. If it were, the singular forms would be Harri and Jone.

Perhaps - forgoing economy of language - I should have written a separate section
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Hi dokterjokkebrok,

Thank you for your reply.

TS
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