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Apostrophes with Names Ending in s, ch, or z
Are you confused about how to show the plural and the possessive of certain names? Maybe you know to write I met the Smiths, I drove Brenda Smith’s Ferrari, and I visited the Smiths’ house. But what if the name is Sanchez or Church or Williams?
Rule: To show the plural of a name that ends with a ch, s, or z sound, add es. If a name ends in ch, but is pronounced with a hard k sound, its plural will require s, rather than es.
Examples:
The Sanchezes will be over soon.
The Thomases moved away.
The Churches have arrived but the Bohmbachs are running late.
Rule: To show singular possession of a name ending in ch, add ’s on the end of the name.
Example:
Harry Birch’s house
Rule: To show singular possession of a name ending in s or z, some writers add just an apostrophe. Others also add another s. See Rules 1b and 1c of Apostrophes for more discussion.
Examples:
Bill Williams’ car OR Bill Williams’s car
Mrs. Sanchez’s children
Rule: To show plural possession of a name ending in s, ch, or z, form the plural first; then immediately use the apostrophe.
Examples:
the Williamses’ car
the Birches’ house
the Sanchezes’ children
Because of the e-newsletter’s large readership, please submit your comments or questions regarding today's (or any past) article through GrammarBook.com’s Grammar Blog
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Pop Quiz
Choose the correct proper noun in each sentence below. The original proper noun is in parentheses. Answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.
1. I’m going to marry Ms. Straus’/Strauses’/Straus’s daughter. (Straus)
2. The Ortiz’/Ortizes’/Ortiz’s dog bit the mailman. (Ortiz)
3. My son can’t seem to get enough of Sandi Finches/Finches’/Finch’s fried chicken. (Finch)
4. The Ames/Amess/Ameses are coming home from vacation tomorrow. (Ames)
Free BONUS Quiz for You!
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We reviewed and strengthened every quiz on our website to ensure consistency with the rules and guidelines contained in our eleventh edition of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.
If you think you have found an error in a quiz, please email us at help@grammarbook.com.
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The Blue Book of Grammar
and Punctuation
by Jane Straus, Lester Kaufman, and Tom Stern
The Authority on English Grammar!
Eleventh Edition Now Available
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- Hundreds of Grammar, Punctuation, Capitalization, and Usage Rules
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Wordplay
Pop Quiz Answers
1. I’m going to marry Ms. Straus’s daughter. (OR Ms. Straus’ daughter)
2. The Ortizes’ dog bit the mailman.
3. My son can’t seem to get enough of Sandi Finch’s fried chicken.
4. The Ameses are coming home from vacation tomorrow.
Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends. Click here to watch. |
