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		Grammar and Linguistics > possessive´s     
			
		 possessive´s 
		
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 lucile
 
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							| possessive´s 
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							| Hello, everybody ! a colleague asked me a question and I must confess that I can�t help her, neither another colleague. It�s about possessive �s. Here it is :   What would you write ? : - "The actress�s dress" or "the actress� dress" ?   Thank you for your help   Lucile |  23 Jan 2009      
					
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 Zora
 
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							| I believe the rule is if the word is plural/ ends in "s" we use just the apostrophe. 
 Example:
 
 The actress� house.
 
 The boys� mother.
 
 
 
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 MartaZ
 
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							| Hi, 
 I�m afraid it�s rather �The actress�s dress�.
 
 M. Swan (in his Practical Grammar Usage) says that you can sometimes add an apostrophe to a singular noun ending in -s, but rather to older and foreign names (e.g. Socrates� ideas). But �s is a more common form:
 e.g. Denis�s horrible wife
 Dickens�s novels
 Tess�s famiy
 James�s car
 the boss�s office
 
 and therefore actress�s dress :)
 
 Best!
 
 Marta
 
 
 |  23 Jan 2009     
					
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 douglas
 
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							| It�s actress�s --possesive is one of the first items covered in Strunk and White�s grammar guide ("THE" US standard for about 70 years).  If I remember right it has to do with the double vs single consonant.   Douglas |  23 Jan 2009     
					
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 Minie
 
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							| Hello !   I would say: the actress�s dress, but the actresses� dresses Cheers ! Minie |  23 Jan 2009     
					
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 Zora
 
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							| A direct quote from wikipedia on the possesive: 
 basic rule (singular nouns)
 For most singular nouns the ending �s is added; e.g., the cat�s whiskers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe#Possessive_apostropheIf a singular noun ends with an /s/ or a /z/ sound (spelled with -s, -se, -z, -ce, for example), practice varies as to whether to add �s or the apostrophe alone. A widely accepted practice is to follow whichever spoken form is judged better: the boss�s shoes, Mrs Jones� hat (or Mrs Jones�s hat, if that spoken form is preferred). In many cases, both spoken and written forms differ between writers.
 
 
 |  23 Jan 2009     
					
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 douglas
 
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							| There is a lot of controversy on this all over the web.  I tend to follow Strunk and White (probably the most used grammar guide in US Universities).    I found this interesting little tidbit at: http://www.legalwritingpro.com/articles/C15-feeling-possessive.php When the Supreme Court reviewed Kansas v. Marsh last term, the justices didn�t just split over whether to uphold a Kansas death-penalty statute. They also disagreed over a usage issue that has driven many lawyers to blows: Whether to write �Kansas� statute,� as Justice Thomas did in his majority opinion, or �Kansas�s statute,� as Justice Souter did in his dissent. � Souter may have lost the substantive battle, but he won this stylistic war: Nearly all authorities agree that if you want to make a possessive out of a singular noun like Kansas that ends in an s, you need to add �s at the end. Just call it �Ross�s Rule.� Better yet, remember it as Strunk & White�s �First Rule,� which it�s been since that classic�s first edition: Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding �s.
 Exceptions: Classical or biblical names, such as Moses, which take only an apostrophe: Moses�.
 |  23 Jan 2009     
					
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 alien boy
 
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							| Here is a quote from Swan�s �Practical English Usage�, 3rd ed. 
 spelling
 
 We sometimes just add an apostrophe (�)  to a singular noun ending in -s, especially in literary and classical references.
 
 Socrates� ideas. Dickens� novels
 
 But (�s) is more common.
 
 Mr Lewis�s dog
 
 We can add�s or � to a whole phrase.
 
 the man next door�s wife
 Henry the Eighth�s six wives
 the Smiths� new house
 
 Note the difference between, for example:
 
 Joe and Ann�s children (one lot of children: Joe and Ann are their parents)
 Joe�s and Ann�s children (two separate lots of children: Joe�s and Ann�s)
 
 
 However, in spoken English you will find the additional (�s) is dropped by many speakers.
 
 Cheers,
 ab
 
 |  24 Jan 2009     
					
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