possessive form of nouns ending in s

[Svejk_1]

the bike of John is John’s bike
the view of the politicians is the politicians’ view
the room of the men is the men’s room
the theory of Rawls is Rawls’s theory

and not Rawls’ theory, or at least, that is what I always thought. My question to you is, is this spelling correct and who if anyone uses it? Is it a UK-US thing? Please fight my ignorance

[Annie-Xmas]

The possession of singular words ending in “s” is “s’s.”

I love writing about Attorney Andrew Vachss’s books.

[Chefguy]

@Annie-Xmas

The possession of singular words ending in “s” is “s’s.”

I love writing about Attorney Andrew Vachss’s books.

Unless the additional ‘s’ makes for an awkward pronunciation. For instance, you don’t usually see ‘Jesus’s teachings’. You can avoid the entire mess by saying ‘the teachings of Jesus’.

[lobotomyboy63]

I heard you use ‘s for Rawls’s b/c Rawls=1 syllable. For 2 or more, it’s Jesus’ (not Jesus’s).

[Chefguy]

@lobotomyboy63

I heard you use ‘s for Rawls’s b/c Rawls=1 syllable. For 2 or more, it’s Jesus’ (not Jesus’s).

You heard wrong. Annie’s analysis is correct in 99.9% of the cases for a singular noun, and in fact you can use “Jesus’s” and be correct as well.

[Rhythmdvl]

From the Chicago Manual. Check with your editor to see which in-house style is preferred (that’s the only ‘true’ rule):

@Section 5.25 Possessive Case

The possessive of a plural noun that ends in s or es is formed by adding an apostrophe {parents’ house} {foxes’ den}. The possessive of an irregular plural noun is formed by adding ’s {women’s rights} {mice’s cage}. The possessive of a multiword compound noun is formed by adding the appropriate ending to the last word {parents-in-law’s message}.

@7.17 Most nouns

The possessive of most singular nouns is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s, and the possessive of plural nouns (except for a few irregular plurals that do not end in s) by adding an apostrophe only. This practice, used in conjunction with the exceptions and options outlined in 7.19–22, reflects the way possessive forms are generally pronounced and is largely faithful to Strunk and White’s famous rule 1 (“Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ’s”). Since feelings on these matters sometimes run high, users of this manual may wish to modify or add to the exceptions. For an alternative practice, see 7.23. See also 5.25–27.

@7.20 Names like "Euripides"

The possessive is formed without an additional s for a name of two or more syllables that ends in an eez sound.

Again, this is just the ChiMan. Check with your style manual to find the correct answer.

[Celyn]

Hmmm, I’m sure that way back when I did have to study Rawls, I used "Rawls’ " as the possessive form, e.g. " … in Rawls’ “A Theory of Justice …” etc, but if I was wrong about that, I suppose that was probably the least of my worries at the time.

Of course that was at St. Andrews University, which tends to suffer from a lot of people incorrectly adding an apostrophe, so perhaps confusion was in the air.

[Polycarp]

I seem to recall two “rules” though I don’t see them documented anywhere:

Most singulars ending in -s take -'s to form the possessive. The exceptions are:

1. Classical names take a lone apostrophe. “Achilles’ heel”; “Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear…”; “Judas’ betrayal”; “Euripides’ Trojan Women.”

2. Singular nouns where the spoken form ends in /-Iz/ (the actual symbol there being a small capital I with a horizontal bar midway up) take only the apostrophe.

[twickster]

@Polycarp

I seem to recall two “rules” though I don’t see them documented anywhere:

See the Chicago Manual of Style, as cited in Post #6.

[Ice_Cream_Man]

This is slightly off topic but how is “In Jesus’ name” pronounced?

Jesus-ez or just plain Jesus?

[Exapno_Mapcase]

Jesus-ez.

For the larger question, the important quote is buried in the Chicago Manual quote:

Since feelings on these matters sometimes run high, users of this manual may wish to modify or add to the exceptions.

As long as you are consistent within a document, you can form possessives in any way you like. Add an s, don’t, it’s up to you.

This changes if you are in a formal situation that calls for reference to a style guide. But if you’re in that situation you can’t ask the question in the first place.

It’s a matter of style. There are no rules to style except the one of consistency.

[Kent_Clark]

The AP Style book beats it to death.

Plural nouns ending in S: add only an apostrophe.

Nouns plural in form but singular in meaning: add only an apostrophe.

Singular common nouns ending in S: add 's unless the next word also begins in S.

Proper names ending in S: add only an apostrophe.

It goes on for another 1 1/2 pages, but you get the drift.