I am an English Teacher here in the Philippines. I can’t help but ask you questions regarding the rules on possessive nouns. What I have been teaching is that when a singular possessive noun made up of two or more syllable ends with s ,add apostrophe only:
Ex. Dennis’ guitar Maritess’ blouse
When a singular possessive noun is made of one syllable only, add ‘s .
Ex. Cris’s answer Jess’s gun
However, some books published recently in the Philippines write:
If the singular possessive noun ends with s regardless of the number of syllables, add (’) apostrophe only.
Other books even suggest that if the noun the noun ends with x , s or z ,just add the apostrophe only
Ex. Dax’ homework Mrs. Cruz’ class record
Please help me before I will make a mess . My 25 years of teaching career is at stake here.
Thank you, diverhank…for your very quick reply, however you did not include in your reply the rules on singular nouns that are made up of two or more syllables.
For ex. Demosthenes, Maritess, Nemesis
Thanks in advance.
Lilibeth, I’m not sure if this rule exists. This link certainly suggests that there are no such rules. See rule 2 example of actress’s grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp
The problem is that there are no 100% absolute rules for punctuation in English, and it seems there are often some fine points that even the “experts” can’t agree on.
Here is something else that might you out, though:
It is as simple as that. However, we do have one area of particular difficulty – the matter of singular nouns ending in s. Here, the usual rule is to add apostrophe + s (‘s) to the s-ending singular as long as pronouncing the extra syllable (which sounds like “iz” or “ziz”) is not awkward. Thus, we have: James’s house, Tess’s car, and the boss’s office. Some s-ending singular nouns, however, become awkward to say if we add “iz” or “ziz” to them. Try sounding out “Jesus(iz) teachings,” “Moses(iz) laws,” or “Sophocles(iz) plays.” It’s tough. Thus, in these instances, we use only the apostrophe: Jesus’ teachings, Moses’ laws, or Sophocles’ plays. In such instances, though, we should try to avoid using the possessive case altogether and write: the teachings of Jesus, the laws of Moses, the plays of Sophocles.
I’m surprised of the changes. For years we have been taught that a name of person ending in s when use as a possessive noun will only be added by an apostrophe. say, bag of Tess = Tess’ bag. Another change I spotted in the latest English book of my little boy is the possessive noun of sister-in-law. Shouldn’t it be sister’s-in-law instead of sister-in-law’s house? Why these changes? I’m now 43. English has been my favorite subject since elementary till I graduated in college.
Daveama’s explanation is correct, but these are not ‘changes’. These rules applied when I was a child (and I’m older than you) People have simply misunderstood the differences when they have taught them.
There has been no change to the possessive noun of sister-in-law and I think you might be confusing it with the plural of sister-in-law.
Singular to Plural:
sister-in-law > sisters-in-law
Possessive singular:
sister-in-law > My sister-in-law’s coat.
Possessive plural:
sisters-in-law > My sisters-in-laws’ coats.
Thank you so much for the clarification Beenees.YOu’re right, I got confused with the possesive noun with that of the plural form of sisters-in-law. however, with regard to the name ending in s…i guess it will take awhile before i get used to it. i have to compare our old English books and with the new English books of my kids. Again, thank you so much
Hi can somebody help regarding the prepositions, such as the following sentences, what is the correct answer? they are : 1. He came_____the salon looking quite different. (OUT OF, FROM OUT OF, BY)2. He asked me to sit_____ the commitee.(BY;FOR THE;ON;) 3. I was_____ the roadside to joburg. (ON;BY;AT;IN)4. Open the book______ page 01(FROM;AT;BY;). 5. Close the door_______ so we can talk.(IN;UP;) 6 . Put him_____for the night. 7.i’ll do it ______ the weekend.(OVER;ON;AT;)
the words on brackets are the answers to choose from.
Hi can somebody help regarding the prepositions, such as the following sentences, what is the correct answer? they are : 1. He came_____the salon looking quite different. (OUT OF, FROM OUT OF, BY)2. He asked me to sit_____ the commitee.(BY;FOR THE;ON;) 3. I was_____ the roadside to joburg. (ON;BY;AT;IN)4. Open the book______ page 01(FROM;AT;BY;). 5. Close the door_______ so we can talk.(IN;UP;) 6 . Put him_____for the night. 7.i’ll do it ______ the weekend.(OVER;ON;AT;)
the words on brackets are the answers to choose from.
Why don’t you tell us what you think the correct answers are, then we can discuss them. You should learn more that way, than just being given the answers.
yes that’s what i need, to be corrected, iam just concerned because nowadays you seem to be so slowly to respond to our virtual classrooms. is anybody viewing the topic now?
There are a lot of questions to be answered, Charles! We have ‘off-line’ lives to lead too - we cannot cover the forums 24/7. Sometimes a delay is inevitable and sometimes posts get missed in the sheer volume, though we do our best not to let that happen.
