(no subject)

[ivyfic]

Dear Star Trek fandom:

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, when forming the possessive, add 's after "most proper nouns, including names ending in s, x, or z, in both their singular and plural forms, as well as letters and numbers." The exceptions to this are nouns plural in form but singular in meaning (like economics or species), words and names with an unpronounced final "s" (like Descartes) and names of two or more syllables that ends in an "eez" sound (like Euripides or Ganges).

That means that it is Bones's. Bones' is not CMS, but is probably an acceptable alternate style. Bone's is right out, unless you are referring to the small white cartoon character.

Love,
Ivy

Comments

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

That one is HARRRRRD for me. Not that I'd ever write Bone's, but I got the Bones' version DRILLED into me in school, and even though I know intellectually that Bones's is okay, I still feel like I'm gonna get graded down for it.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Me too! I'm sitting here all defensive but still lost in the dark because I still think it should be Jesus' instead of Jesus's. (An old debate, from long ago, and still my most cogent example.)

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Yes, but, according to many grammarians, though not the CMS, ancient names like Moses and Jesus are exceptions. So Jesus' is correct. Unless you are referring to a hispanic person named Jesus, in which case it would be Jesus's.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I just double-checked this. CMS puts an s on after Jesus, but my Copyeditor's Handbook holds up Jesus as an exception. So there you go.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I can't do it! I can't! ::wails::

In all seriousness, I have actually avoided constructing sentences where I was unsure of how to go about the possessive of a noun ending in "s." While it's nice that there are some Chicago-style rules about this, it's still maddeningly opposite to what I have always done.

[moonlightalice.livejournal.com]

I was just going to say: famousy-famous names ('specially old ones) don't need the 's, like Jesus' or Apuleius'.

I think Bones should be up there with Apuleius.

(And also? That rule in general can suck me. I think both are perfectly acceptable.)

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Whenever possible, I go with "McCoy's" instead to simply avoid the whole issue.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

What bothers me just as much is people who use "James" in the third person narrative, if it is closely associated with a character's POV. Nobody calls him James.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Only ancient names, though. Contemporary ones have the s, like Jasper Johns's.

It's more a question of consistency for me. I hate people who split the difference, writing "Bones'" "Bone's" and "Bones's" in the same paragraph.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

It really is widely accepted amongst print folk that you put the s on names, like Bones's.

If you want something that will really bend your mind...say someone has the last name Jones. Their household would be the Joneses. Something belonging to the household would be the Joneses'. As in: "The Joneses have a pool. It is the Joneses' pool." That means that it would be: "I'm going over to the Joneses'." And that is something no one ever gets right. Ever.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I flinch at "Bones's." I just do. I can't commit to it!

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Put it's correct. Live with it.

I should know--my name also ends in an s.

?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Put it's correct.

Re: ?

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Shaddup.

Re: ?

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

And I can't edit that comment. I don't know why. I can edit all the others.

Re: ?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I wasn't being obnoxious--at least, not deliberately so. I just didn't know how to parse that sentence.

Re: ?

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

But. But it's correct.

Re: ?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhh, now I get it!

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0425226921

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

...That's correct. Angels is plural. It's not someone's name. Possessives of plurals ending in s are made with just the apostrophe.

Bones is a name. That's the distinction.

Also, reference to titles is no guaruntee of correctness. I direct your attention to Two Weeks Notice.