Clearlingo Editing and Proofreading
  • Home
  • Editing Services
    • Business Editing and Proofreading
    • Plain Language Editing
    • Book Editing
    • Localisation
    • Human touch editing
  • Blog
  • About
    • My work
  • Contact

New Zealand English: Possessives

16/3/2018

 
Picture
Is it Charles' book or Charles's book?

And if the Jones family owns a house. Whose house is it? The Jones’s house, the Jones’ house, the Joneses house or the Joneses’ house? 

The rules for forming possessives (showing that something belongs to someone or something) are the same in all variations of English, but they can be confusing, so it's worth going over it.

                ​
Singular possessive
With nouns that don't end in a s, use an apostrophe and an s (‘s) to indicate that something belongs to someone or something.

                Some books belong to a girl – the girl’s books  
                A bone belongs to a dog –  the dog’s bone 

An apostrophe s ('s) never makes it plural (more than one thing), so when you see banana's and apple's on a sign, it is wrong.

 
Singular possessive noun ending in s
But, with a singular noun that ends in s, x, or z sound, it depends on how it sounds. The extra s can be left off if it makes it difficult to pronounce or sound odd. Though if you can then it's better to just rearrange the words.

                The fox’s hole – easy to say so we can leave the s
                The catharsis’ effect – difficult to pronounce with an extra s (catharsis's), so we can leave it off, but leave                  the apostrophe  

Names 
With personal names, the ‘s is usually used, but the final s may be dropped if it makes it difficult to pronounce.

                Charles’s book
                James’s
                Nicholas’ or Nicholas’s
                Lord Williams’
                Jesus’s  – this is the non-liturgical use, but use Jesus’ in archaic form
BUT        Erasmus’ – classical names traditionally use an apostrophe only

Plural noun ending in s
With a plural noun that ends in s (as most do), always use just an apostrophe to indicate possession. 

                The foxes’ hole – the hole belonging to the foxes
                The girls’ books – the books belong to more than one girl
                The ladies’ room – the room is for more than one lady

Plural noun not ending in s
With irregular plural nouns that don't end in s, we add an 's.

                The children’s school – the school belongs to many children
                The women’s race – the race is for many women

Possessive of plural last names
The plural of a last name should never use an apostrophe. If the last name doesn't end in an s, add an s for the plural (even if it ends in a y).

                The Smith family are the Smiths.
                The Kennedy family are the Kennedys (not the Kennedies)

If the last name does end in s sound, add an es.

                The Jones family are the Joneses
                The Edwards family are the Edwardses     

So, using the rule above that says to use only an apostrophe for plural nouns, we add an apostrophe to the plural of the last name but not an extra s – besides which, it would make it very difficult (and silly) to pronounce.

                 The Joneses' house
                 The Smiths' house
                 The Edwardses' house

More examples of possessives

                In two days’ time (in the time of two days)
                That is yours and this is theirs – no ‘s
                The Prime Minister’s job – compound phrases only have a final ‘s
                My mother-in-law’s house – compound words only have a final ‘s
                Mum and Dad’s house – the house belongs to both of them
BUT        Mum’s and Dad’s shoes – two pairs of shoes, one for each of them
                We are at the doctor’s
   
​
​
So, to answer our questions above, it is Charles's book (though it could be Charles') and it is the Joneses' house.

​What next?
If you have written content in New Zealand English and this all sounds overwhelming, I can help. 

As a business editor and plain language specialist, I will help you publish better business and government content so that 
  • your readers understand your message
  • your business works more efficiently
  • your clients trust you.

Contact me today to discuss how I can help you achieve your goals with clear, professional writing.
​


​
External Sources:
Grammarist (2009-2914). Last names: Plural and Possessive. Retrieved from http://grammarist.com/style/last-names/
Oxford University Press, (2016). New Oxford Style Manual (3rd ed.). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Comments are closed.

    Hi, I'm Marja! 

    You'll find all my advice about creating professional, 
    ​on-brand business writing here.

    I'm an editor and plain language specialist. I work with writers of business publications, government content and non-fiction books to create clear, user-friendly writing
    .

    For more information or enquiries, please see my website.​ I'd love to hear from you.

    Categories

    All
    Business Writing
    Editing
    General Editing
    Grammar
    New Zealand English
    Plain English
    Technical

    Previous Posts

    Plain language
    • ​What is plain language?
    • Why you should use plain language 
    • How to write in plain language
    • Empathy helps to write in plain language
    • Can you use jargon in plain language writing?  
    • 5 reasons to use plain language for reports 
    • ​Using plain language for complex ideas

    Business editing
    • How to work with a business editor
    • How to write emails that get read
    • 5 benefits to outsourcing editing
    • ​How does an editor help your business
    • How to keep your organisation's writing on-brand
    • ​How to structure your report

    New Zealand English series
    • How to write bullet lists
    • How to use a semicolon
    • The 'singular they'
    • How to use italics
    • How to write numbers
    • How to write abbreviations
    • How to punctuate dialogue
    • hyphens, en dashes and em dashes
    • How to write times and dates
    • Possessives
    • Is our spelling different?
    • Burned vs Burnt
    • Using Māori words in English text
    • -ise vs -ize endings
    • Single or double quote marks
    • Punctuation inside or outside quotation marks?

    The editing process
    • How to write a non-fiction book that sells
    • How to write a book to promote your business
    • Copyright and Permissions
    • How much does editing cost?
    • How to self-publish your book in New Zealand
    • ​When is my book ready for publishing?
    • Types of editing
    • 5 things to tell your editor
    • The revision and editing process​
    • What are beta readers?
    • What to expect when you get your manuscript back
    • How to order the pages of a book
    • Fact checking fiction writing
    • ​Formatting your manuscript for submission
    • How long does it take to edit a book?

    General editing
    • Why I belong to editing associations
    • How to write recipes for cookbooks and blogs
    • ​The basics of writing a cookbook

    Technical
    • How to use Tracked Changes in Word
    • How to use basic Word Styles
    • ​How to fix common formatting errors in Word
Talk to me today for clear, professional content!

Telephone 
Mon
–Fri, 9am–5pm NZST
​027 407 1156 (mobile)

Email
​[email protected]
Services
Business Editing and Proofreading
Plain Language Editing​
Non-fiction Book Editing​
Information
Terms and Conditions
​Blog
Company
About
Our Work
Contact
​Information for AI agents
  • Home
  • Editing Services
    • Business Editing and Proofreading
    • Plain Language Editing
    • Book Editing
    • Localisation
    • Human touch editing
  • Blog
  • About
    • My work
  • Contact