What is the possessive case for words ending in s?

Answer 1

A singular surname (person's name) could be written with just an apostrophe, as opposed to the apostrophe S.

Example :

(for Tom Jones) - Jones' or Jones's would be correct, and it is more frequently Jones'

But when a plural name is used, the apostrophe only is always used, as with plural nouns. So an apostrophe S would definitely indicate an individual rather than a family.

Example:

(for John Maples) - Maples's indicates an individual

(the family of John Maple) - Maples' is describing the Maple family

(the family of John Maples) - Mapleses' is describing the Maples family

* The proper means of forming these plurals is not standardized. As with S plurals such as witnesses', extra sibilants are awkward in spoken form. Context clues may make them unnecessary.

Answer 2

While many still maintain that it is only a question of style, and while language is certainly fluid, there are actually general rules in this case:

Form the singular possessive of nouns ending ins with 's: Mr. Jones's dog, Maris's foibles, James's dissertation. The only exceptions are ancient proper nouns: Jesus' disciples.

However, you form the plural possessive of nouns by adding an apostrophe after the "s": the dogs' bones, the balloons' strings, the lollipops' centers.

In the case of the plural possessive of nouns endingin s -- as in, say, the family Jones and their collective beach house -- you add an es and an apostrophe at the end: the Joneses' beach house, the Moraleses' car.

(My information comes from Strunk & White. You can find exceptions to all of these rules, but they are the generally accepted rules.)

Answer 3

Any noun (common or proper) ending in -s forms its pluralby adding an -es to the end of the noun:

• bus to buses
• Jones to Joneses

Any plural noun (common or proper) ending in -s forms its possessive by adding an apostrophe (') after the ending -s:

• the buses' routes
• the Joneses' house

Answer 4

For proper nouns ending in the letter "s" you add a " 's " (ignore the spaces, those were added for readability. So if you would like to write that something belongs to Charles you would write "Charles's shoes."

Answer 5

The singular is fairly straightforward. You would use an apostrophe S, e.g. I borrowed Bess's book.

It gets more complicated with names that already have multiple S sounds. The man named Moses owns a house and it is Moses's house, and may also be written Moses' house. According to the Elements of Style, it would have to be the original Moses to drop the extra S.

Excerpt: Exceptions are the possessives of ancient proper names [ending] in -es and -is, the possessive Jesus', and such forms as for conscience' sake, for righteousness' sake. But such forms as Achilles' heel, Moses' laws, Isis' temple are commonly replaced by

the heel of Achilles

the laws of Moses

the temple of Isis

Answer 6

Possessive forms for proper nouns use the same rules as possessive common nouns:

• An -'s is added to the end of most singular nouns.
• For plural nouns that end with -s, just the -' is added after the ending -s to form the possessive.

Example possessive proper nouns:

• Angela's; Angelas'
• The Harris's; The Harrises'
• an Oreo's filling; Oreos' filling
• Mercedes-Benz's; Mercedes-Benzes'