Now I have backup the next time a GE tells me that Lois' should be Lois's.
Hmmph... As long as you’re consistent, I never correct this when I GE. But my
preference is
Lois’ because I also think
Lois’s looks cluttered.
And just because I am being anal, can I say that along those lines, I hate when people take a last name that ends in S, such as Strauss, and try to suggest that Strauss' would be the plural form? It's Strausses, as odd as it looks; the apostrophe is a possessive.
Yep. But lots and lots of people get this confused, and I believe there have even been some discussions about this on the board before. And what exactly is the plural of Charles? Charleses? (It is.) Hehe. Looks stupid doesn’t it? I’d probably try to find some way around it.
Then, about five years ago, I suddenly reversed course and began using it. Who can tell why?
I must admit that I’ve been tempted, but then I remember my 3rd grade teacher who taught us
Lois’ and at that time the other was *not* acceptable. We had a Charles in our class and she kept having to explain it over and over because he didn’t get why it shouldn’t be Charles’s rather than Charles’. I can just imagine that he now feels triumphant.
