Post by Paul Doherty on May 3, 2008 16:18:15 GMT
2. NAMES
The plural of Smith is Smiths: The Smiths are coming over for a barbecue.
The plural of Jones is Joneses: I never try to keep up with the Joneses.
We sometimes use the possessive when talking of a place: I'm going to the baker's. (Short for the baker's shop.) But if the place itself is labelled, it's usually with a description of the people: Jones and Son, Bakers. In the same way, house names and signs (if the they use the name of the family) usually just use the plural: The Williamses. Same with The Elms and so on.
The possessive of Tess is Tess's: This is Tess's homework.
Some people would write: This is Tess' homework.
There's no consensus as to which is right; both are found in reputable writing. Most style guides prefer Tess's, but you'll as often see that was Wales' first goal as that was Wales's first goal.
The possessive of James is James's or James' (see Tess, above) but never Jame's.
The plural of Smith is Smiths: The Smiths are coming over for a barbecue.
The plural of Jones is Joneses: I never try to keep up with the Joneses.
We sometimes use the possessive when talking of a place: I'm going to the baker's. (Short for the baker's shop.) But if the place itself is labelled, it's usually with a description of the people: Jones and Son, Bakers. In the same way, house names and signs (if the they use the name of the family) usually just use the plural: The Williamses. Same with The Elms and so on.
The possessive of Tess is Tess's: This is Tess's homework.
Some people would write: This is Tess' homework.
There's no consensus as to which is right; both are found in reputable writing. Most style guides prefer Tess's, but you'll as often see that was Wales' first goal as that was Wales's first goal.
The possessive of James is James's or James' (see Tess, above) but never Jame's.
