To Add S or Not to Add S, That Is the Question
I thought maybe for this next post, we might stick to something a little more cut and dried: Possessives. Now, the apostrophe s is not without its fair share of misuse, and has even caused one state across the border to impose legislation about it! Something about those tricky possessives gets people hot and bothered.
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) warns us that the term possessive is a “misleadingly narrow” term, as the genitive case (the linguistic term for possessives) is formed in such a variety of ways, depending on the particular noun and its usage within a sentence. CMS offers a clear description of the functions genitives perform:
The genitive case denotes (1) ownership, possession, or occupancy {the architect’s drawing board} {Arnie’s room}; (2) a relationship {the philanthropist’s secretary}; (3) agency {the company’s representative}; (4) description {a summer’s day}; (5) the role of a subject {the boy’s application} (the boy applied); (6) the role of an object {the prisoner’s release} (someone released the prisoner); or (7) an idiomatic shorthand form of an of-phrase (e.g., one hour’s delay is equal to a delay of one hour).[1]
For our purposes, we will use the term possessive and take a look at why everyone is so conflicted, or just plain confused, about which form to use.
My own experience as a copyeditor for a popular Canadian children’s book publisher was just as conflicted. I was in the room when the decision came down to remove the s after the apostrophe in the title Silas’ Seven Grandparents, a decision that went against our own house style. The reasoning was that we didn’t want the word ass on the cover of a children’s book. Fair enough, although the rigid grammarian in me disagreed wholeheartedly. It just goes to show, rules can always be overruled.
Let’s start with a refresher. There is general agreement among style guides on the principles of how to form possessives for common nouns:
- a singular noun that doesn’t end in -s — add ’s {expert’s opinion}
- a plural noun that ends in -s or -es — add an apostrophe {appellants’ house} {judges’ decision}
- an irregular plural noun that doesn’t end in -s — add ’s {women’s rights}
Everyone can agree so far, right? These same rules apply to proper nouns as well, but they become a little more confusing for some reason. Let’s say Justice Smith hands down a decision. The possessive form becomes Justice Smith’s decision. Singular possessive. Easy. But what about Justice Thomas? Is it Thomas’s decision or Thomas’ decision? That silly s throws us for a loop every time!
The Canadian Style from Dundurn Press tells us it is all in the sibilants (a linguistic term for sounds that resonate, like s and z, even x) that fall at the end of a word. They say: “If it would be natural to pronounce an extra s, add ’s; if an additional s would be difficult to pronounce, add only an apostrophe.” [2] Their examples are Brussels’ bureaucrats but the boss’s office.
That logic would lead us to use an ’s in our example. Thomas’s decision sounds natural. And I agree. But what about a name like Descartes? We don’t pronounce the final s, so is it Descartes’s decision or Descartes’ decision? If we follow their sibilant rule, we would omit the final s, but all my other sources tell me to leave the final s there. If we were to use Descartes’s decision, would people be inclined, then, to mispronounce it “Descartesez decision”? How can so many other respected resources be wrong?
To clear up this hiccup, The Canadian Style goes on to say: “Since awkwardness of pronunciation is the basic criterion, the decision to add or omit a possessive s ultimately depends on the writer’s [or editor’s] own sensitivities.” What? What kind of a rule is that? So we are just left to fend for ourselves?
And we wonder why everyone is confused!
So I propose we stick to the basics. Here’s a simple table to follow when in doubt.
Singular (’s) Regular Plural (s’) Irregular Plural (’s)
(ending in -s or not) (ending in -s or -es) (not ending in -s)
Common nouns a judge’s verdict the judges’ decisions women’s rights
a witness’s testimony witnesses’ comments children’s innocence
Proper nouns Smith’s case the Smiths’ case
Thomas’s judgment the Thomases’ appeal
And so where do the names that end in silent s wind up in this chart? Descartes is a singular name, so I would use apostrophe s, Descartes’s idea (although I would pronounce it correctly). But if it was the awkward plural Descartes family, The Copyeditor’s Handbook (and my personal Bible for editing and copyediting) suggests: “Best to treat the plural of Descartes as invariant and enlist ‘of’: the home of the Descartes (not the Descarteses’ home and not the Descartes’ home).”[3] And honestly, for the multitude of times we’ve found ourselves writing about the home of the Descartes, a little formality probably sounded better anyway.
These are the basics of the possessive s. For more detailed information on any exceptions to the rule or any lingering questions about it, leave a comment and I’ll do my best to respond. Until then, check out these great references:
- Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006)
- The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2010) online: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
- The Canadian Style: A Guide to Writing and Editing (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1997)
[1] “5.19 Genitive Case”, The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2010) online: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
[2] The Canadian Style: A Guide to Writing and Editing (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1997) at 141.
[3] Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006) at 135.
KJL Editorial 