Re: possesives in -s

John Cowan wrote:

> The way I do it (which is also the rule laid down by Strunk & White):
>
> Nouns ending in a pluralizing "s" take an apostrophe to mark the
> possessive:
> goats', horses', Americans'.
>
> Classical or Biblical names ending in "s" also take an apostrophe:
> Moses', Jesus', Achilles'.
>
> All other nouns take "'s": man's, horse's, John's, Charles's,
> men's, women's.
Well, according to my little book on English grammar, the correct way is:

"Most singular nouns add an apostrophe and s, most plural nouns add an
apostrophe after the plural form, both with the following exceptions:
proper or common nouns that end in s. These usually add 's in the singular
unless the final sound of the basic word is [-iz].
plurals which do not end in s; these add an apostrophe and s."

Following this, Jesus --> Jesus's. However, Moses --> Moses's would depend
on how you pronounce Moses. Personally I pronounce it /mo:zEs/, but I know a
lot of people say /mo:ziz/, especially on the other side of the pond.


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Go dtóga na púcaí do bheithígh!
                                      May the fairies take your livestock!
Dan Jones: www.geocities.com/yl_ruil/
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