Correct Grammar (was Open Email to Yahoo Feedback/Try Yahoo Investor Relatio

[justcarol67]

Annemehr wrote: 
> > Now, who can tell me the convention(s) for using apostrophe-s or
apostrophe alone in possessive forms of words ending in S?  Does it
make a difference if it's a singular name like Sirius as opposed to a
plural word like students?  Is it "Sirius's," but "students'?"
> 
> SSSusan:
> I always thought it was pure preference, but I will gladly bow to
any grammar expert who might know otherwise.
> 

> Sherry:
> 
> my understanding--hoping I'm remembering correctly--is that it is,
's for singular and s' for plural.  so,
> 
> Sirius's
> 
> students' <snip>
> 



Carol responds to everybody:
I'm a former college English teacher and I currently edit for a
living, so I can tell you that Sherry is right, at least as far as
American English is concerned. About the only exception to the 's for
singular possessives is Jesus'. A few authorities, for exactly the
Chicago Manual of Style, allow just the apostrophe for other biblical
names ending in s, e.g., Moses', and for names of more than one
syllable in which the final unaccented syllable is pronounced "eez,"
e.g., Xerxes' or Euripedes'. However, Sirius's, James's, Kansas's,
Jones's, etc., all take apostrophe s. However, some authorities use
just the apostrophe if the final s sounds like a z (James') but
apostrophe s if the final s sound like s (Sirius's). (CMS 6.24-30).
Now aren't you sorry you asked?

Carol, noting that we're not dealing with grammar here so much as with
spelling or punctuation