Talk:Saxon genitive
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Reading a paper I noticed the posessive form of the company name "Simmetrix" written as "Simmetrix'". Since the company name ends in an "-ics" sound, this makes phonetic sense, but I haven't seen it elsewhere. Is that legit?
- It's non-standard if thats what you mean. The only time one uses s' is in regular plurals. For singular nouns (proper or common) ending in s one uses 's (the bus's driver (but the buses' driver)) (the lace's maker) (Asterix's magic potion) But, its your language, not theirs (nor even their's). Use it how you like. Zeimusu | Talk page 13:53, 2005 September 1 (UTC)
- I was always taught back in grammar school that you were not to use an apostrophe to indicate possession if the word ended with an s, not only if it ended with an S and were plural... this seems incorrect, as we also do not pronounce the second s... could this be purely a British construction? I am American, so I would not know. Ameise -- chat 22:21, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
- No.I don't entirely know what you are asking, but there is no difference between the British and American constructions of the posessive. If the word is posessive and singular, regardless of the ending, add 's. If the word is plural, ending in S, AND posessive, add just '. If the word is plural, NOT ending in S, and posessive, add 's. This will sometimes lead to weird-looking words, (i.e. "Stress's affects on the body are bad.") But it's the way English works..
[edit] It's
Is "it's" both a possessive of a thing & a conjuction of "it is", or only a conjunction of "it is" with "it's" as a possessive being incorrect? (I've been told to use "its" when it is possessive to not confuse it with the conjunction, but I don't know if this is proper). 67.5.158.54 00:48, 7 May 2006 (UTC)
- It's is a contraction for it is and nothing else. The posessive is its and should under no circumstances be written with an apostrophe. Example: It's not true that the dog bit its owner. Note also that in careful writing the contraction it's should not be used, it should be spelled out, so: It is not true that the dog bit its owner. Stefán Ingi 09:49, 8 May 2006 (UTC)
- Careful. It's is also a contraction for it has though strangely (to me) not for it was. --Henrygb 14:27, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
- Because then you get to use 'twas, and who could pass up a chance at that? (insert Monty Python reference here) --Xyzzyva 13:55, 7 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] References?
- Do we need the "{{unreferenced}}" complaint? The matter described in this article is common knowledge to most native English speakers. Anthony Appleyard 05:39, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
- Actually some of it covers technical aspects of the english language, and thus should be referenced as proof. unreferenced template replaced. --165.230.46.148 22:14, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
- Some suggestions on where to look:
- Style guide
- The Elements of Style --165.230.46.148 22:27, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
- Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#Which_style_to_use
- [1]
- Looks like the difference is just singular vs. plural, so names like "James" would be "James's" --165.230.46.148 18:48, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
- You can't really cite any references for this subject.... Such would be like questioning a cop when he pulls you over because he doesn't have any verification that going 50 miles per hour over the designated speed limit is illegal.
My opinion is that the only aspects of language that can have any study--and thus, cited references-- are speech and its effects on words in order (something to the effect of the use of contractions in English). The rest in nothing but an untaken census of English speakers. --Dragonspight 10:19, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Names
I learned that depending on the number of syllables in a name, there's a difference whether there is a "'s" or just "'". For example: Camus', not Camus's and James's not James'. Anyone know what is correct? And please find a source for it too. --165.230.46.148 22:17, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
