Thanks for the link, Rivka. I was AWOL from the mbs for most of July and there was a lot that I never did get caught up on - this poll was obviously one of those things.
Quoting from Schoolmarm in Rivka's link:
I have checked all four grammar books currently residing on my bookcase. (One of the quirks of being a former English teacher) The rule is very simple and has been stated above by a number of people. With the exception of the following proper nouns: Jesus, Achilles, and Moses, add 's to a singular proper noun that ends in an s. Add an apostrophe to a plural noun that ends in an s whether it is proper or common. So, it is Lois's, the Lanes', the boys', and Moses'. If any of you found a website that said it was all right to say Lois', the information was incorrect.
Well, I have found websites that apparently give incorrect information, at least that imply that to me. One is
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation which gives the example of
Ms Jones' office or
Ms. Jones's office.
and another is
Prof. Charles Darling\'s Guide to Grammar & Writing which gives the example of
Charles' car and then says
Some writers will say that the -s after Charles' is not necessary and that adding only the apostrophe (Charles' car) will suffice to show possession. Consistency is the key here: if you choose not to add the -s after a noun that already ends in s, do so consistently throughout your text. - certainly I agree with the consistency part, which I mentioned in my earlier post...
I have seen both grammar guides recommended by writers here - which is how I discovered the URLs in the first place - and I have found them to be useful resources.
Quite honestly, I don't want to start up a big debate here, but if this is in fact a rule, yet these guides don't seem to include it, how do I know how trustworthy they are about other information?
Kathy
