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 we prefer the latter. Please consult 7.15–18 for a full discussion of the
rules for forming the possessive of proper nouns. For a discussion of the alternative practice of simply adding an apostrophe
to form the possessive of proper nouns ending in s, see paragraph 7.21.
Q. I have suddenly become an editor and am having trouble on a daily basis with the numeric use of decades. First, is “the
90s” or “the ’90s” correct? We often
see the apostrophe omitted these days. Next, if a sentence contains the phrase, “Perhaps the 70s best
director . . .” (meaning, the best director of that decade),
“70s” is both plural and possessive. Should it be “70’s”?
“70s’”? Other than reconstructing the sentence, what’s
an editor to do?
A. Strictly speaking, ’90s, with the apostrophe, is correct.
The ’70s’ finest director was Martin Scorsese, particularly for his work on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and Taxi Driver.
Note the apostrophes, both of them. You are always free to write “seventies’ finest.”
Or, “The finest director of the ’70s was assuredly Francis Ford Coppola, for his
work on the first two Godfather films and Apocalypse Now.”
Q. Would the phrase “The Board of Trustees meeting” be considered an attributive
noun? Or should possession be indicated with an apostrophe? Thank you for your assistance.
A. Better to write “board of trustees’ meeting.” When it is
a matter of drawing the line between the possessive (or genitive) form and the attributive (adjectival) form, CMOS generally sides with the former, adding the apostrophe unless there’s no possessive meaning or unless
it is a matter of an official, published form that does not carry the apostrophe. See paragraph 7.25 in CMOS 16 for examples.
Q. Which is correct? (a) He has 15 years’ experience designing software, or (b) He has 15 years experience
designing software. I’ve seen it written both ways. I believe “years”
needs an apostrophe. If he has 15 years of experience, that would translate to “15 years’
experience.” Right? Please help.
A. You are absolutely right. Analogous to possessives, and formed like them, are certain expressions based on the old genitive
case. As your question implies, the genitive here implies of. For some examples, see paragraph 7.24 in CMOS 16.
Q. My husband owns a production company with his brother. The name of the company is Deep-Dish Pictures. The brothers would
like to state on their video jacket that the film is: A PEPPERONI BROTHERS FILM. No one in the production company can agree
if it should be: A PEPPERONI BROTHERS FILM, A PEPPERONI BROTHER’S FILM, or A PEPPERONI BROTHERS’
FILM. [Company and surname changed for this forum.] Please help!!!! Thanks!
A. It should be “a Pepperoni brothers film” because “Pepperoni
brothers” is functioning as an adjective (it is a film by the Pepperoni brothers; compare “employees’ cafeteria,”
a cafeteria for employees). “Pepperoni brothers” can also function possessively:
I saw the Pepperoni brothers’ first film last year.
Q. A friend of John or a friend of John’s? I’ve heard that both are correct. A friend
tossed the famous ambiguity at me this way: “A student of Einstein.” Unless it’s
Einstein’s, then it might be taken to mean a student who is working on Einstein.
A. It is best, and, what is more, perfectly idiomatic, to use the double genitive when “one of So-and-so’s”
is what you have in mind:
a student of his (that is, one of his students)
a student of Einstein’s (that is, one of Einstein’s students)
Then you have the liberty of writing “a student of Einstein” to mean by contrast
either someone who is working on the great theoretical physicist as a scholarly subject or, more broadly, someone who is a
close observer of Einstein and his work.
Fowler’s notes in its third edition that such phrases as “a student of his” are illogical—one
of the “freaks of idiom” (pp. 542–43). In any case, your
friend’s “student of Einstein” example is an excellent refutation
of those who would avoid the apostrophe s at all costs.
Q. When using a pronoun to replace the first noun when two nouns show possession of one item, which case should the pronoun
be? For example, in the sentence “I’m going to my uncle and aunt’s
house,” “uncle” is not in the possessive case. So which
case should the pronoun be? “I’m going to him and my aunt’s
house”? “I’m going to he and my aunt’s
house”? Or, “I’m going to his and my aunt’s
house”? And, if the answer is “his,” how do you reconcile
that the pronoun is not agreeing with the noun it replaces in gender, number, and case? And what is correct if the pronoun
replaces the second noun? “Megan’s and his room”? Or “Megan
and his room”?
A. The trick of showing joint possession with a single apostrophe s is possible only with two items that can take an apostrophe s. Hence a car owned by John and Jim can be expressed as “John and Jim’s car.”
This is clearly a convenient shorthand—helped out by the fact that, normally, you can assume readers
will not think that you’re writing about John, on one hand, and Jim’s car, on
the other. Most pronouns do not form the possessive with an apostrophe s. “One” becomes “one’s,”
but “he” becomes “his” and “I”
becomes “my.” Therefore you generally cannot use shortcuts in cases of joint possession
involving a pronoun. You must make both owners possessive:
his and my aunt’s house
Megan’s and his room
You can reconcile the first as equivalent to “my uncle and aunt’s house”
by remembering that the apostrophe s after “aunt” also applies to “uncle”;
“his” is technically replacing “uncle’s”
not “uncle.”
Q. Which is correct: “so and so, four months pregnant” or “so
and so, four months’ pregnant”?
A. Write “four months pregnant”—that is, without the apostrophe.
The expression is analogous to expressions like “three hours late” and “five
feet high.” In such cases, the expression of time or distance is simply modifying the adjective that
follows. The apostrophe is reserved for the genitive case. The phrase “four months’
pregnancy” is an example of the genitive case because it can be rewritten with “of”:
pregnancy of four months.
Q. My fourteen-year-old stepson claims that the newest version of Microsoft Word “corrects”
the contraction “it’s” by removing the apostrophe. He also
claims that they “looked it up” online and that the rule has been changed so that
neither the contraction nor the possessive has an apostrophe. I explained to him that the contraction and possessive of “its”
may be one of the most difficult rules for people to learn because many people want to believe there should be an apostrophe
for the possessive form. Are you aware of a so-called change? I never trust software and I am trying to convince him that
he should not trust it either. Thank you for your time.
A. Your guy is pulling your leg. In fact, the default settings of the latest version of Word automatically correct in exactly
the opposite direction, fully supporting the apostrophe s in “it’s”:
it snot —> it’s not
it’ snot —> it’s not
it;s —> it’s
Remind your stepson that a person can find a mountain of misinformation online, and that he needs to learn how to judge the
source. And just in case the little rascal thinks you’re easily duped, remind him that you can double check his online finds, as well (QED). Finally, invite him to write to us with his questions.
Q. My editor keeps correcting my possessive. Which is correct? (One person owns the house but several people live there.) We
went to the Kerr’s or We went to the Kerrs’ or We went to the Kerrs. I used the
first one and she says it’s wrong. Thank you so much.
A. Your editor is right. The Kerr family consists of more than one person, so for starters they need to be in the plural: Kerrs.
This is logical—we add an s to most nouns to make them plural (one cat, two cats; one Kerr, two Kerrs).
Then, to make it possessive, you add the apostrophe: Kerrs’. If, on the other hand, Mary Kerr owns the
place and has unrelated roommates, then you are stuck with writing “We went to Mary Kerr’s”
(or “We went to Mary’s”). Since we would not refer to Mary
as “the Kerr,” we wouldn’t refer to her house as “the
Kerr’s house.”
Chicago Style Q&A: New Questions and Answers
