Plural and plural possessive last name issues
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- Ramona
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Plural and plural possessive last name issues
Do these errors greatly bother anyone else? If it's only once in a book, it's probably only an overlooked typo and I can deal with it. But when it's repeated over and over, as in one book I read, it is like nails on a chalkboard!! I just want to rattle someone's cage and beg, "Please let me proofread your card, or sign, or book for you!!!"
The answer is really so simple!
To make plural if the last letter of last name is one of the following, just add -s:
-->a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, t, u, v, w, y --> JUST ADD -s with NO apostrophe needed.
To make plural if the last letter or combination of letters of the last name is among the following, just add -es:
s, x, z, ch, sh -->JUST ADD -es with NO apostrophe needed.
TO MAKE IT PLURAL AND POSSESSIVE -- add -s' or -es'
ie.: the Smiths' house or the Joneses' house
-- 22 Oct 2015, 13:14 --
Now I have a question: what if the name was Smiths. Smithses seems awkward. Not sure if Smiths even exists, but I imagine there are similar names where adding -es would seem awkward. I haven't looked this up on the internet, but it's probably out there.
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In regards to our Smiths question - I read a good article on WriteShop entitled "Pet peeves, apostrophes, and plural family names" which talks about plural and plural possessive issues in regards to last names. (Unfortunately since I'm a new member here, I am unable to post a link or url to the article, but you can find it through a Google search if you're interested in reading it.) From what I've read in this article and in others, Smithses is probably the correct way to go - even though it looks quite awkward.
- Ramona
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- moderntimes
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The door to Master's condo opened.
I practically screamed at myself for making that typo or grammatical error and letting it sneak past me for so long. Thankfully I managed to catch the error and fixed it to read:
The door to Masters' condo opened.
Hey, it happens.
- rachel_bruhn
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- moderntimes
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"Jim opened door."
instead of
"Jim opened the door."
And I'm guessing that rarely, the auto-justification software which turns the author's ragged right pages into a fully justified page hiccups.
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- DATo
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Here are the rules I go by and if anyone doesn't like them they can go hang themselves.
John Smith's - That which is possessed by our friend Johnny Smith.
Thomas Smiths' - That which is possessed by our friend Johnny's brother who is so embarrassed by his family that he added an S to the end of his name so people won't think he is related to them.
'Sylvia Smiths' or Sylvia Smiths - The entire collection of people in the world known as Sylvia Smiths.
The Smiths - The Smith family.
The Smith's - That which is collectively owned by a family named 'Smith'.
Smithes' - That which is possessed by Harold of the Smith family [Johnny's youngest brother] who has changed the spelling of his name because is both embarrassed by the Smith family as well as by his idiot of a cousin, Thomas.
smith's - The state of possession of an article owned by some big brute, or brutes unnamed, who hammer iron on an anvil.
His Eminence The Smythe's - The state of possession of an article owned by some big brute, or brutes unnamed, who hammer iron on an anvil and have recently achieved the status of royalty.
― Steven Wright