yeah boys' vs boy's but that's simple singular vs plural, the issue here is with singular words that end with "s"
― Angles that bitch (Julie Lagger), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:32 (twelve years ago) link
boy'sandberry is your favourite flavour
― Derek Pringles (Deep in the Tony Hart land), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:32 (twelve years ago) link
hah, I had never known the concrete codified form of that rule
the cats' litter box (but would you pronounce it cats or cats's)
― nice catch cuauhtemoc blanco niño (dayo), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:33 (twelve years ago) link
pronounce it cats unless i was trying to be "cute"
― Angles that bitch (Julie Lagger), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:33 (twelve years ago) link
In which case a steel toecap to the bollocks would be appropriate
― Derek Pringles (Deep in the Tony Hart land), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:38 (twelve years ago) link
never mind the bollocks's steel toecaps
― nice catch cuauhtemoc blanco niño (dayo), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:38 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.englishrules.com/writing/2005/possessive-form-of-singular-nouns-ending-with-s/
trying to figure out how to use the phrase "the possessive Jesus’" in every conversation I have today
― OH NOES, Friday, 16 December 2011 15:41 (twelve years ago) link
i like how that blog gives "the general rule" and then 5 lines down quotes Since writers vary in the use of the apostrophe, it is not possible to make a hard and fast rule about the apostrophe in singular words ending in s.
― Angles that bitch (Julie Lagger), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:42 (twelve years ago) link
i meant to say, my version here isn't what i consider to be the law, it's just how i learned to do this/how it seems most pleasing to my eyes/ears
― Angles that bitch (Julie Lagger), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:44 (twelve years ago) link
I like OH NOES's link
― nice catch cuauhtemoc blanco niño (dayo), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:44 (twelve years ago) link
Except in all examples it uses an opening single quote instead of an apostrophe.
― ledge, Friday, 16 December 2011 15:46 (twelve years ago) link
oh god:
http://webdesignledger.com/tips/common-typography-mistakes-apostrophes-versus-quotation-marks
― nice catch cuauhtemoc blanco niño (dayo), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:47 (twelve years ago) link
urge to kill rising
― Angles that bitch (Julie Lagger), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:54 (twelve years ago) link
does my keyboard even HAVE an apostrophe key vs. a single quote key
― nice catch cuauhtemoc blanco niño (dayo), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:54 (twelve years ago) link
are there people out there who can tell when the . should be italicized and when it's not
― nice catch cuauhtemoc blanco niño (dayo), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:55 (twelve years ago) link
..
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE
I just zoomed in and THERE IS
― nice catch cuauhtemoc blanco niño (dayo), Friday, 16 December 2011 15:56 (twelve years ago) link
's every time, everything else is preciousness
― bloating forecast: ruff swells (p much resigned to deems), Friday, 16 December 2011 16:08 (twelve years ago) link
I never do s's
looks really weird
― iatee, Friday, 16 December 2011 16:17 (twelve years ago) link
googling around I thought this made sense: boys' ball (a ball owned by two or more boys) v. boy's ball (a ball owned by one boy)
And Beuys's ball (a ball owned by Joseph Beuys)
― jaymc, Friday, 16 December 2011 16:43 (twelve years ago) link
Boise's ball (a ball owned by the city of Boise)
― nice catch cuauhtemoc blanco niño (dayo), Friday, 16 December 2011 16:44 (twelve years ago) link
While I am well aware of the approved standard I was taught as a lad, this is definitely a standard I think ought to be rescinded. Every way of handling a possessive "s" following a terminal "s" will be ugly, but at least "Charles's" has the twin virtues of being easier to notice and easier to remember, because it isn't a deviation from the general rule.
― Aimless, Friday, 16 December 2011 16:53 (twelve years ago) link