Grammar Help Needed

[Cheshirekatt]

Ok, I know there are some teachers out there and I need some help.

The grammar thing that trips me up all the time is the possession thing. Like if I were to say, That belongs to Elvis....would it be That's Elvis'? Or that's Elvis's? (that doesn't look right). I always get confused about where the apostrophe goes. Do you add an s if the name ends in an s already? When does the apostrophe go before the s and when does it go after the s? :confused:

[babolaypo65]

If I understood your question right.... according to the Chicago Manual of Style (online) EITHER is fine. I use CMS for all my grammar questions.
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq/cmosfaq.html

QUOTE
Q. When indicating possession of a word that ends in s, is it correct to repeat the s after using an apostrophe? For example, which is correct: Dickens' novel or Dickens's novel?


A. Either is correct, though the main CMS recommendation is the latter. Please consult 6.30 (p. 201) in the fourteenth edition, which has a full discussion of these options, including, specifically, the example of Dickens (and the phonetically similar Hopkins and Williams).

[babolaypo65]

Let me keep looking since your Elvis example is a silent 's' and not a voiced 's' (/z/) like Dickens

edit:
(sorry, my full CMS is at work... still looking though...)

[Cataholic]

You are doing two things here....you are using a contraction....That is = that's AND a possessive. So, it would be that's Elvis's. That is Elvis's _______. That is Elvis's litter pan. That's Elvis's litterpan. That litter pan belongs to Elvis. If you use that last sentace structure...you don't have to worry about what goes where.

When I struggle with a sentance's structure, I change it to something I do know.

I am never quite certain when words ending in 's' get the ' before the 's', or after, with another 's' added... I **think** it has something to do with the way it sounds, and if the word itself is already representing more than one of something.

[PayItForward]

In England.

John's X
Means John owns X
i.e. John's book

Johns' X
Means John is X
i.e. Johns' mad

[babolaypo65]

Wow, that's cool. But different than the U.S.
John's would be used for both.
Johns' would only be used for plural Johns

(or plural bathrooms/ WCs, referred to as Johns, as in All the Johns' doors were missing....)


Originally posted by PayItForward
In England.

John's X
Means John owns X
i.e. John's book

Johns' X
Means John is X
i.e. Johns' mad

[Cataholic]

Originally posted by babolaypo65
(or plural bathrooms/ WCs, referred to as Johns, as in All the Johns' doors were missing....)

Yikes, I hope I don't run into that bathroom..he he

[babolaypo65]

LOL. I had the hardest time coming up with a sentence with Johns' in it!


Originally posted by Cataholic
Yikes, I hope I don't run into that bathroom..he he

[smokey the elder]

It's interesting how English is one of the few languages that uses a lot of contractions. I don't have a lot of experience with foreign languages but what little I do have indicates this. In Spanish, for example, one would say "the car of John" because there is no equivalent for "John's car." It sure makes it confusing for people trying to learn English!