English grammar question about possession?

Question

If I wanted to say that a bicycle belonged to Chris, what would be proper English?

That is Chris' bicycle.
That is Chris's bicycle.

And for Wendy?
That is Wendy's bicycle.
That is Wendys' bicycle.

Please state in your answer if you are just guessing. All answers appreciated.

I'm not one to let my questions go to voting, but I just don't know what to think here. It looks like this causes confusion in a lot of people. So please... If you see the right answer, vote.

Answer 1

Chris: both are correct

Wendy's

Not a guess...

Answer 2

The correct answer would be Chris' bicycle ,because it already ends in an s. And for Wendy's bicycle , that is the correct way . I'm not guessing, I have known this for 30 years. You'll get it and it will just be second nature. You just have to get to know the rules better. It helps if you just read the sentence to yourself pronouncing how you have it written, if it sounds funky that way , you can bet that it's probably wrong.

Answer 3

For Chris, you could use Chris's. Add 's to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in -s

For Wendy, it would be Wendy's bike. The only time you would use Wendys' would be if there were two Wendys that owned the bike. (For instance, if Wendy was a last name and John Wendy and Sue Wendy owned the bike, it would be the Wendys' bike.)

Answer 4

If the name ends in an 's,' you'll add the apostrophe at the end -- without an apostrophe + s. For example, James' book, Jesus' friend, etc. I think it'll still be grammatically correct if you write Chris's instead of Chris', but it's more acceptable to just write "Chris'."

For any other names *not* ending in 's,' using an apostrophe + s is correct, like in Wendy's bicycle.

Also, it's appropriate to use just an apostrophe at the end of a plural word ending in 's' to show plural possession, for example:

This room is the doctors' lounge (meaning the lounge belongs to more than one doctor).

As opposed to:
This room is the doctor's lounge (meaning the lounge belongs to just one doctor).

Clear as mud? :o) I hope this helps!

Answer 5

Of course Chris' and Wendy's what english did you take?

Answer 6

That is Chris' bicycle.

That is Wendy's bicycle.

Answer 7

According to Merriam-Webster, you always add 's to show possessive. You only go with s' if it's a plural.

So "That is Chris's bicycle" and "That is Wendy's bicycle."
But, "The Jeffersons' apartment."

Sometimes, "Moses" and "Jesus" will take an apostrophe only (these are the only ones), but a lot of people don't do it anymore: "Jesus' sermon."

Answer 8

i have been taught that in the case of Chris, whose name ends in s, either way is acceptable, but Chris's is actually correct.
For Wendy, only Wendy's is correct.
I'm 50 years old, a college graduate, and an avid reader.

Answer 9

Correct: Chris's bicycle = the bicycle of (belonging to) Chris
Correct Wendy's bicycle = the bicycle of (belonging to) Wendy

SINGULAR NOUNS
• add 's to the *singular* form of the word (even if it ends in -s):
---o the owner's car
---o James's hat

PLURAL NOUNS
• add 's to the plural forms that do not end in -s:
---o the children's game
---o the geese's honking

• add ' to the end of plural nouns that end in -s:
---o houses' roofs
---o three friends' letters

• add 's to the end of compound words:
---o my brother-in-law's money

• add 's to the last noun to show joint possession of an object:
---o Todd and Anne's apartment

Answer 10

When a word ens in a sibilant sound (s sounding) you add only the apostrophe and no "s". In the case of Wendy, there is no s sound at the end so add apostrophe s. I am not guessing. I taught this stuff.

Answer 11

Chris's bicycle.

Wendy's bicycle.

The apostrophe would come after the "s" if it were a plural. For example: The kids' toys (as opposed to one kid's toys)
I'm not just guessing.