Is it Martinez or Martinez's?
Martinez is a singular noun & Martinez's is the singular possessive form of the noun. For example, you would say “Mr. Martinez was my favorite high school teacher” or “I got to school early and stole Mr. Martinez's parking spot.”
Common nouns ending in an s, z or x sound should generally take an apostrophe and an s when indicating possession. ✅ The abacus's beads. ✅ Your boss's husband. ✅ The fez's colour.
To show possession when a noun ending in y becomes plural, write ies'. Do not write y's. Exception: Names and other proper nouns ending in y become plural simply by adding an s. They do not form their plurals with an apostrophe, or by changing the y to ies.
To form the possessive of a proper noun ending in an s or z sound, some people use apostrophe + s, as in Perez's and Burns's, and others prefer an apostrophe alone, as in Perez' and Burns's.
To form the possessive of the plural, add an apostrophe. The Martinezes like to go to the lake for time with family during the summer. The Martinezes' favorite food to cook on the grill is chicken.
1 To make regular nouns plural, add –s to the end. 2 If the singular noun ends in –s, –ss, –sh, –ch, –x, or –z, add -es to the end to make it plural.
The spelling Chris's, with an additional S after the apostrophe, is a more common way to write the possessive form of Chris. Most style guides, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, recommend that you use an apostrophe and an S to create the possessive form of a singular noun.
For proper names like James, AP says, add an apostrophe only: He borrowed James' car. For generics like boss, add an apostrophe plus S: He borrowed the boss's car. But there's an exception: When the word that follows begins with an S, use an apostrophe only. Hence: the boss' sister.
Jones = Mr. Jones's. Some people favor adding only an apostrophe to a singular noun ending in s, but if you follow the rule, you can't be wrong. If a plural noun does not end in an s, you must make it possessive by adding an apostrophe and an s: women's; children's.
Don't use an apostrophe to make your last name plural. Apostrophes can be used to show possession—à la the Smithsʼ house or Tim Johnsonʼs pad— but they don't indicate there's more than one person in your family.
How do you pluralize Kennedy?
Thus the plural of Kennedy is Kennedys, not Kennedies. Please note that you have seen no apostrophes in these plurals. But let's turn now to possessives. If you're showing that someone owns something, that's where your apostrophe will come into play.
noun, plural kel·lies, kel·lys.
The correct version: Liz's walks. My mother's unmarried name was Liz Gilbert. The Gilberts were a small family living in East Anglia's countryside.
Is it Lopez or Lopez's? Since there is more than one Lopez, a plural is needed. Because Lopez (singular) ends with z, we follow the rule of adding es to make it plural. Therefore, the invitation is from the Lopezes.
Use the regular apostrophe s: "Alex's" is correct. Any name whose last syllable is pronounced with a long eez sound should have just the apostrophe, whereas others have apostrophe s.
...
With names, apostrophes are for possessives.
- The Joneses' dinner was a success.
- The Foxes' house was beautiful.
- The Alvarezes' grandmother was delighted.
- The Churches' singing was heavenly.
- The Ashes' train derailed in the mountains.
When it comes to showing possession, to make most surnames possessive, simply add an apostrophe and an “s.” Mr. Smith's car was repossessed. For showing family possession with surnames that are plural and possessive, make the name plural first by adding an “s” and then add an apostrophe to make them possessive.
So a safe solution is to treat singular nouns ending in S the same way you treat singulars nouns not ending in S: Form the possessive with an apostrophe and an S. Thomas's house. The important thing to remember is that Thomas is singular.
noun, plural Z's or Zs, z's or zs. the 26th letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
1. The -s plural ending is pronounced like /z/ after voiced sounds. This means that if the ending of the noun is voiced - if you can feel your larynx vibrate at the end of the noun you pronounce - it has the /z/ sound. Some examples are: dads, moms, boys, girls, rooms, dogs, schools, days, years, lives.
Is it Travis or Travis's?
This is Travis's house. (correct and sounds better) This is Travis' house. (correct but awkward-sounding)
The apostrophe has three uses: 1) to form possessive nouns; 2) to show the omission of letters; and 3) to indicate plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols. Do not use apostrophes to form possessive pronouns (i.e. his/her computer) or noun plurals that are not possessives.
Use 's for the possessive of singular nouns that end in s:
Charles's books, Dickens's novels, actress's script. Note: If a singular noun ending in s is followed by a word beginning with s, use only the apostrophe, not the 's. For example, Charles' shirt.
According to the Chicago Manual of Style (which folks in my profession refer to as the Bible of Book Publishing), the rule is the same as any other singular possessive. You write her name with possession just like you say it: Alexis's.
Historically, names ending in s followed the plural rule: *Seamus' writings were well-known throughout Galway. For proper nouns, this is considered a stylistic choice, but following the singular form is more common these days: Seamus's writings were well-known throughout Galway.
The Chicago Manual of Style (the most popular style guide for books in the US) would go with “Nicholas's” while AP Stylebook (the most popular style guide for newspapers in the US) would go with “Nicholas'”.
All you need is an “s” at the end of the name (Smiths, Johnsons). If you have trouble remembering whether the apostrophe is necessary, think of your message. For instance, if you mean to say, “The Smiths live here,” then you don't need the apostrophe on the sign or that sentence.
If the name ends in s, z, ch, or sh, you need to add es. That means the Davis family becomes the Davises, the French family becomes the Frenches, the Hernandez family becomes the Hernandezes, and the Glaves family becomes the Glaveses.
The “Chicago Manual of Style” says that you form the possessive of proper names ending in S the same way you handle plain-old nouns: Add apostrophe and S. The boss's house. Ross's house.
If your last name is Johnson and you want to send a card from your family, simply add an "s": The Johnsons ("Merry Christmas from the Johnsons!"). Only use an apostrophe when you want to make a name possessive. ("From The Smith's" is always wrong, but "The party is at the Smiths' house" is correct.)
How do you use apostrophe S with multiple names?
Compound Words or Group Words
To make compound words or a group of words possessive, add an apostrophe and an "s" to only the last word. Ex: Singular: The chairman of the board's decision was final. Ex: Plural: The daughters-in-law's children argue about everything.
Add es to your last name. Examples: If your last name is Jones, you will change it to Joneses. If your last name is Davis, you will change is to Davises.
Therefore, "Jesus" is rarely if ever pluralized, but if is, e.g., in a special usage and meaning such as 'people who are like Jesus', the plural would be the regular "Jesuses," with the written plural suffix "-es" which is used after noun stems that end in sibilants (sounds like [s] and [z]) and in which the "-es" ...
The plural of Jones is Joneses, ‐es being added as an indicator of the plurality of a word of which the singular form ends in s, as in dresses or messes. The apposition of the much misused apostrophe to the word Jones does not pluralize it.
Names ending in s with a hard z sound
When a family name ends in an s that sounds like a hard z (like the s in buys), in most cases its spelling remains unchanged in the plural. In other words, we don't add an es to make it plural: The Andrews enjoy fine dining.
First, make the noun Williams into a plural: Williamses. Then add the possessive apostrophe according to the rules that gave us “the cats' tails.” That gives us “We had dinner at the Williamses' house last year.”
Mendez, known collectively as the Mendezes, live in the Mendezes' house. And Mr. and Mrs. Berry, whom we call the Berrys, live in the Berrys' house.
The plural of Rogers is Rogers. The plural of Miles is Miles. The Rogers are joining us for the holidays.
The only time you would add the apostrophe is for possession: Welcome to Kerry Smith's Home or Cole and Kerry Smiths' Home. So if we're making signs, for instance, we'd say: Welcome to the Smiths, Welcome to the McBrides, Welcome to the Davises, Welcome to the Joneses, Welcome to the Hesses.
The Associated Press Stylebook recommends just an apostrophe: It's Tennessee Williams' best play. But most other authorities endorse 's: Williams's. Williams's means “belonging to Williams.” It is not the plural form of Williams.
Is Adams's correct?
For example, should you use “Adams' (2013) work” or “Adams's (2013) work”? Per APA Style, the answer is that the possessive of a singular name is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s, even when the name ends in s (see p. 96 in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual).
To make your last name plural, never add an apostrophe. Just don't do it. “The Millers went to the concert” is correct. Adding an apostrophe to your last name makes it possessive: “Did you see The Millers' cool new van?”
That's because the apostrophe before the “s” indicates ownership or possession when that's not the sign's intent. All you need is an “s” at the end of the name (Smiths, Johnsons). If you have trouble remembering whether the apostrophe is necessary, think of your message.
Jones = Mr. Jones's. Some people favor adding only an apostrophe to a singular noun ending in s, but if you follow the rule, you can't be wrong. If a plural noun does not end in an s, you must make it possessive by adding an apostrophe and an s: women's; children's.
There are some acceptable variations; however, you will never be wrong if you follow three simple rules. First, if your noun is singular, its possessive will always be on target if you add an apostrophe and an s: girl = girl's; town = town's; Jess = Jess's; Mr. Jones = Mr. Jones's.
For proper names like James, AP says, add an apostrophe only: He borrowed James' car. For generics like boss, add an apostrophe plus S: He borrowed the boss's car. But there's an exception: When the word that follows begins with an S, use an apostrophe only. Hence: the boss' sister.
Names are proper nouns, which become plurals the same way that other nouns do: add the letter -s for most names (“the Johnsons,” “the Websters”) or add -es if the name ends in s or z (“the Joneses,” “the Martinezes”).
According to the Chicago Manual of Style (which folks in my profession refer to as the Bible of Book Publishing), the rule is the same as any other singular possessive. You write her name with possession just like you say it: Alexis's.
The important thing to remember is that Thomas is singular. When you're talking about more than one, you first form that plural by adding -ES. One Thomas, two Thomases. Then, to note that something is owned by more than one Thomas, just take the plural and make it possessive: Thomases'.
Don't use an apostrophe to make your last name plural. Apostrophes can be used to show possession—à la the Smithsʼ house or Tim Johnsonʼs pad— but they don't indicate there's more than one person in your family.
How do you pluralize a last name ending in s?
If the name ends in s, z, ch, or sh, you need to add es. That means the Davis family becomes the Davises, the French family becomes the Frenches, the Hernandez family becomes the Hernandezes, and the Glaves family becomes the Glaveses. If the name ends in x, also add es—unless the x is silent.
The last letter of your last name will determine if you add an “-s” or an “-es”. If your last name ends in -s, -z, -ch, -sh, or -x, you add -es to your last name to make it plural. For example: Happy Holidays from the Joneses!