and does this work with his (sort of) surname Christ. why is he an exeption, him and Moses?
2007-03-10 04:21:30 · 15 answers · asked by Zen禅Maiden :ジェダイ 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Chris's car, Bridget Jones's Diary
Jesus' desciples
The bird's feathers
2007-03-10 04:35:34 · update #1
Catullus' poetry!!! what a guy, I studied him in Latin.
2007-03-10 04:39:12 · update #2
You should get out more.
2007-03-10 04:24:14 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 2⤋
Guitarpicker has it dead on. Where did this odd idea about not adding apostrophe +s to form possessives come from? It's James's, Charles's, Chris's and on and on.
To reinforce GP, the link below is to the US General Printing Office Style Manual. There are exceptions for ancient/biblical names by custom, but all others take 's
2007-03-10 17:02:55 · answer #2 · answered by dollhaus 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
To form the possessive of a proper noun ending in -s that names a figure from the Bible or from classical antiquity, insert only an apostrophe after the -s if the noun consists of more than one syllable. Examples:
Jesus' teachings
Moses' importance
Socrates' influence
Achilles' tendon
Sophocles' dramas
Catullus' poetry
But if the name consists of only a single syllable, form the possessive by adding an apostrophe and -s. Example:
Zeus's powers
James's book
2007-03-10 12:36:07 · answer #3 · answered by Guitarpicker 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Apostrophe after the s' signifies ownership in the English language
Whereas apostrophe before the 's signifies a singular context.
Jesus' disciples-means their his-indefinitely.
Bird's feather means that it's the bird's but not ownership.
2007-03-14 11:59:22 · answer #4 · answered by RAVIE G 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
names ending in s shouldnt have a ' then another s.
But sometimes they do, as grammar is slipping a bit with time. the reason for the ' after the first s, is just so it looks okay
chris's bike
or chris' bike
you say it the same but it looks less clumsy the second way.
it' s hell to learn it, cos then you have the cat's dinner, the cats' dinner....thank god we say mice and not mouses! can you imagine ? the mouses's' dinner!! LOL
2007-03-14 10:42:23 · answer #5 · answered by ravey 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
That's just the way that English evolved. At least you are interested in the aposrophe. Brilliant!
2007-03-10 12:26:03 · answer #6 · answered by R.E.M.E. 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It could be one of two things. The rules of grammar or religious persecution. You decide.
2007-03-10 12:30:52 · answer #7 · answered by Murazor 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
any proper name that ends in "s" is treated this way. It is proper English grammar. Take "Chris" for example. You wouldn't say "Chris's" you would say Chris'. Read a book, get an education.
2007-03-10 12:30:03 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
They are basic rules of grammar. If you'll follow the pattern, they both end in s.
2007-03-10 12:25:49 · answer #9 · answered by Justsyd 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Jesus' is pronounced the same way as Jesus's.
Jesus' implies ownership (like "Jesus' sandles" or "it's Jesus' food, don't touch it").
Jesus's is usually a shortening of the phrase "Jesus is" or "Jesus has".
2007-03-10 12:27:19 · answer #10 · answered by greenfan109 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
If the name ends in an "s", you use a straight apostraphe with no "s" to denote possessive. Otherwise you use apostraphe s.
Examples:
Jesus'
John's
Mark's
Luke's
Osiris'
Horus'
2007-03-10 12:31:37 · answer #11 · answered by CC 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋