Possessives
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.