hey, do any of u guys know the difference between this:
Charles' book and........ Charles's book ???
thanks
2006-10-17 08:04:45 · 70 answers · asked by d29061 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
Ok, if I remember my grammar after being out of school for soooo long, { I do want you to know however that English was my BEST subject so I'm pretty confident about what I am telling you now} Charles' book is DEFINITELY CORRECT if we are talking about one Charles. Charles' book denotes possession that is the book belongs to Charles, not Charlie. Normally it would be 's but when the name ends in S, the rule is reversed and it becomes S'. The second example that is given, Charles's book, I believe but am not absolutely positive, means that there are two people named Charles (2 Charles's, and they each have a book. I'm going to check that out and will be back with an edit if I can find anything.
2006-10-17 09:04:11 · answer #1 · answered by Sicilian Godmother 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Since the name Charles ends with an 's' the form Charles's book is unnecessary. The correct form would be Charles' book. In the end, they both show possession of the book by Charles.
2006-10-17 08:45:42 · answer #2 · answered by adikeo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Charles' book is the correct grammar, though I have had a professor in my College Comp class once tell me that both are accepted, as it was overlooked in most of our educations, deemed unimportant by most english teachers.
If Charles's was said outloud, you would get (Charles-is), which would just be silly to be taken seriously.
Whereas Charles' book would be accepted, there was a question posed about words ending in a 'z,' such as Schwartz, this would be Schwartz's book, rather than Schwartz' book, though this is obvious, it was noted that it happens a lot more than expected, for people think that the posessive apostrophe is denoted by the ending sound of the word, not the letter.
2006-10-17 08:49:59 · answer #3 · answered by Mike G 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Really easy - one book belongs to those named Charles (as a last name) and the other book belongs to an individual with the first name of Charles.
2006-10-17 08:30:34 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no difference -- both are possessives, but in some English speaking countries, they prefer not to have the double 's' and use the first form, Charles' book. Others play it strictly by the books and use Charles's book, which is technically correct. They are pronounced the same so which you use in written form is really up to you.
And there aren't very many grammatical decisions that YOU get to make! Most are dictated by some dusty old tome, so live it up. Alternate between the two. Or do whichever you please.
2006-10-17 08:15:17 · answer #5 · answered by old lady 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Because Charles ends with an s you don't add 's to show the possessive form this is incorrect, the correct answer is your first
Charles' book it means that the book belongs to Charles
2006-10-17 08:29:52 · answer #6 · answered by Neptune2bsure 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first is unacceptable (Charles' book) because Charles is one person. You use the apostrophe after the s in cases referring to things already in the plural case, like the following:
1. cars' engines, but when talking about one car you would write, the car's engine.
2. houses' bedrooms, but if I were writing about the bedrooms in only one house I would write, the house's bedrooms.
Let's try one more using some tennis players as an example:
There were many tennis players at the event. The tennis players' raquets were all very expensive and the latest models.
But again, if I'm just referring to one tennis player:
The tennis player's raquet was very expensive and the latest model.
2006-10-17 08:48:04 · answer #7 · answered by soulguy85 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
charles' book is correct, charles's book has way too many s's. The second item isn't even grammatical. It's just wrong, unless many there are three Charles, and they all own a book. But then I think it would be Charleses' book or something. *shrug*
2006-10-17 08:31:26 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Charles' book" would be correct if it were a book belonging to more than one Charle (ie. Freds' book) The 's' is only dropped when denoting possesion by a plural. Because this situation is come across very rarely and there is no difference in how they sound, both uses are acceptable.
2006-10-17 08:23:42 · answer #9 · answered by Natlie Y 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Charles' is like the Charles family. more than 1 person addressed to as Charles', so it belongs to all of the Charles' there. Charles's is ONE person and the 's shows ownership w/ the book. jeez thats a mouthful :P
2006-10-17 08:19:00 · answer #10 · answered by gg_sk8ertm 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋