Isn’t the answer to the question “Who lives there?” actually “the Addamses”? This applies to last names as well. You need to use the best formula and stay consistent all the time. When an apostrophe S is followed by a noun like in the last example: John’s car. OTOH, I could envision a sign that said, literally, “This is the Brown’s place”. When the last name already has an ‘s’, such as Morales or Jones, possession punctuation gets confusing. For example: Smiths’ car, Joneses’ home. If you want to know more about using apostrophes with names, this page will guide you. If you are pluralizing the family name to indicate multiple individual members, no apostrophe is used. Adding an apostrophe makes the last name possessive, which is unnecessary in this case. You don’t need an apostrophe because the last name is not expressing ownership. Two street name signs on either side of the same road, one old one with an apostrophe and one new one without. This construction is admittedly cumbersome, and there is a way to avoid it without giving a passing copy editor a case of the shingles: Label your abode “The Addams house” or inform visitors and passersby that “The Addams family lives here.” This wording is not as folksy, but it still manages a homey touch without adding sibilant syllables or pesky apostrophes. Forget the apostrophe completely. On a return address is using an apostrophe on a last name: The Smiths is plural for "Smith" and means there is more than one person named Smith and the invitation is from them all. Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Mid Devon district council says punctuation mark can cause confusion. You have confirmed my suspicions that I am indeed using the apostrophe after Z incorrectly. In the spirit of the season, I beg you. The possessive of a plural name is always formed by adding an apostrophe after the final s (the Smiths’ dog, the Harrises’ family home). We don’t say “the car of John” as you do in some languages. If your name is Brown, and there are more than one of you, then you are “The Browns,” and your home is “The Browns’ Home,” not “The Brown’s Home.”. The number of syllables don't matter in this instance. The Lennons welcome you to a fun-filled event. However, for names you do put the apostrophe-s. This article is more than 7 years old . What are the rules for using apostrophe with this name, such as possessive, plural, etc.? We take great care to get a good family photo — free of closed eyes and children's tears — and then we mess up our last name. Season Greetings from the Smiths If your last name ends with “s, x, z, ch, sh”, then add an “es” at the end of your name. It can be tricky to address a plural family if their last name ends in an S, X, Z, CH, or SH. Last names ending in s are no different. No apostrophe: it is merely a plural noun. I’ve found that customs of style evolve over time, so personally, I’m inclined to accept either as … Besides, “ [This is] The Browns’ [Home]” is nothing I could ever see anyone reading into a sign. How many grams of bromine are required to completely react with 22.1 g of titanium? What should the Addams family’s shingle read? If you want to show ownership, add an apostrophe. This applies to last names as well. Just make sure you have an “of” idea: The house of the Parkers = the Parkers’ house. As someone with a surname ending in s, I usually add an apostrophe after the s to indicate possession. NO APOSTROPHES NEEDED! But, maybe you have a door mat or a sign in the kitchen – one of those popular pieces of family wall art with your family name “Est. Copyright © 2020 Daily Writing Tips . Brown’s dog, Brown’s car, Brown’s house. Rules about possessives can be complicated, but this error is straightforward enough: Take away the apostrophe and the final s, and what do you have? Stephen ... Because I was taught how to write in the 1950s I will continue to add an apostrophe to my last name and it’s on a sign saying The Brooks’ in my mother-in-law’s front yard. Converting that phrase to mostly understood, “[This is] the Brown’s [place]” would also be … If your goal is simply pluralization, however, forgo the apostrophe. Bottom line: No apostrophe before the possessive s, or no apostrophe at all. It literally pains me just to see it being used incorrectly. I’ve seen such usage and should have included that alternative. Last Name Sign, Custom Wood Sign, Pallet Sign, Family Name Established Sign, Wedding Sign, Personalized Wedding Gift, 3D Sign Personalized MyCustomGallery. Who plays Big Shirley in Martin the sitcom? Sign painters and those who personalize interior decor should keep a little chart with correct and incorrect examples. I also listed the Windows ALT keystroke or the Mac equivalent that can be used to insert the character in a text. What is the contribution of Isaac Akioye and is Achievements? The illusive apostrophe has long been a source of frustration for MANY. Latest News from. Luckily I can suggest a simple way to get these apostrophes right. The Smiths, The Munsters, The Addams. “This way, the question is: Who lives here (not whose house is this)? Again, thanks for making the correct forms for this issue so clear! How long will the footprints on the moon last? “The Munsters’” — or perhaps “The Munsters’ house.”, (The additional s is pervasive in books and many other media, while its absence is typical in journalism — in the old days of mechanical typesetting, that meant one less piece of type to position — and other more casual or ephemeral kinds of publications. Signing a card, "Happy holidays from the Smiths!" Then it would be very clear that one should add either an apostrophe or apostrophe+s to the basic root, as you do correctly instruct. Learn where to insert apostrophes to make last names plural. If you are using the names of two different people in a possessive form, you add the apostrophe and the “s” only to the second name -- “Mary and Sally’s red blouses.” If you use one person’s name and a pronoun for the other person, add the apostrophe and “s” only to the name -- “Jimmy’s and her favorite movies.” The Smiths, The Munsters, The Addams. I am confused with how this rule works. eg Mary Hodges’ books. In the spirit of the season, I beg you. “Isn’t the answer to the question ‘Who lives there?’ actually ‘the Addamses’?”. CBS News. Just sign your name and make it plural by adding an S (if it doesn't already have an S on the end), such as The Princes, The Whites, the Halls, the Highs, etc. When an apostrophe is needed to show the possessive form of a plural family name (e.g., Smiths, Fords, Bateses, Alverezes), the name is treated just like any other plural noun that ends in s.For example: The Smiths' cat has gone missing. Maeve on January 01, 2020 7:41 pm. For proper names, you add the apostrophe-s to the end. Jill on April 14, 2019 at 2:53 pm said: So it’s Mr. Galdamez’s suitcase, right? Possessive Names Ending In S Is there a way to search all eBay sites for different countries at once? When writing biblical names that end in /s/ or /z/, many style guides still seem to recommend adding just the apostrophe (e.g., Jesus’ sandals or Moses’ staff or Artaxerxes’ wealth). 2002” type deals. In English, it is used for three purposes: The marking of the omission of one or more letters (as in the contraction of do not to don't). In this specific instance (surname identifying the residence), I say: Why complicate matters? Apostrophe Rules For Names . ), And what if the surname already ends with an s? Instead, you're making your last name plural to indicate that the card is from all of your family members (the Smiths). TVGuide.com. Reply. The rule is to append es to the name, so, the plural of Addams is Addamses. Continuing with an article that appeared in last month’s issue of the NALS docket, we will talk specifically about using apostrophes with surnames (a person’s last name). Season Greetings from Joneses If your last name ends with any other letter, just add an s. or "He said, ""Don't! Correct: The Wilsons are here. Jeff on March 29, 2020 at 8:14 am said: Natchez’s looks (and sounds) awkward. Apostrophe definition, the sign ('), as used: to indicate the omission of one or more letters in a word, whether unpronounced, as in o'er for over, or pronounced, as in gov't for government; to indicate the possessive case, as in man's; or to indicate plurals of abbreviations and symbols, as in … Over 21s wine bar sign with odd apostrophe. What you only need … When To Use Apostrophe After S . Who lives at this house? How do you make your family name plural, and should it have an apostrophe? For other nouns, you'd put just an apostrophe at the end, so if you had a bunch of cats and they had beds, you say that those are the cats' beds, or if your parents shared a car, you would say it is your parents' car. Who is the longest reigning WWE Champion of all time? You don’t have to be a grammar wizard to get the right answer. This the number one mistake made on invitations (See rule 1 below). What would you say the qualities deeply esteemed by the people of those time? Thanks just the same. The sign should therefore read “The Addamses,” or “The Addamses’ house.”. The members of the Johnson and Smith families, for instance, are the Johnsons and the Smiths, not the Johnson’s and the Smith’s. On a return address is using an apostrophe on a last name: The Smiths is plural for "Smith" and means there is more than one person named Smith and the invitation is from them all. If you are pluralizing the family name to indicate multiple individual members, no apostrophe is used. If it appears after the s, then it will most likely be plural, i.e. I go with with Natchez’. Apostrophe On Family Name. Apostrophes are those little curved marks you see hanging from certain letters. But when signing your family's last name on a thank-you note, greeting card, letter, e-mail, Christmas card, etc., you don't need to use an apostrophe to make it plural. The apostrophe (' or ’) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. As the noun in this sentence is in the plural form, there is no need to add an apostrophe. The use of apostrophes in last names is no different from their use in any other word. Natchez’ peak population was 23,791 (1960 Census). Whose residence is it, then? If you want possessive of pluralized family name, you need to pluralize the first and simply make name possessive using the apostrophe. Usually, if the last name is ending with hard “z”, you will not add “-es” or “s”. If the name ends in s, z, ch, or sh, add es. You should also address how you'd insert a string such as He said, "Don't!" the boy’s girlfriends. Suggestions. using single quotes and/or double quotes — which can be done: 'He said, "Don''t!"' It's Chris's book. When signing your family's holiday cards this season, disabuse yourself of the notion that adding an apostrophe to your last name "looks right" or "makes sense." Guy`s Hospital sign and smoke-free notice, London, UK. Depending on the last letter of the name, simply add –s or –es. One of the most confusing punctuation rules is when to use an apostrophe to make a name possessive if it ends in S. Names not ending in S are easy: Jack’s toy; Jill’s microscope; Jeremy’s doll; Jane’s plane ; When a name ends in S, it throws people off. You see them all the time during rural drives and suburban errands alike, those olde-fashioned wooden shingles mounted on mailboxes or dangling from porches or fastened to walls: “The Smith’s” and the like—stark reminders that possessives still throw many people for a loop. With a singular compound noun (for example, mother-in-law), show possession with an apostrophe + s at the end of the word. You're not trying to make your last name possessive, which is what adding an apostrophe does (the Smith's). How do you know when to add an apostrophe to more than one of something that forms a proper noun, such as a person’s last name? The terrier of the Parkers = the Parkers’ terrier. How To Pluralize A Last Name. What are the disadvantages of control account. )Have you seen the Fords' new car? It belongs to a family whose name is Brown. The first rule—the most important thing to remember when working with surnames—is DO NOT EVER change a person’s name. Most nouns ending in s are pluralized by adding es. Until apostrophes disappear from English altogether, you can take one step toward apostrophe reform by perfecting the art of […] Until now, I always assumed that a singular noun ending in “s” needed an apostrophe then an “s” to show possession. the girls’ boyfriends. If the name ends in x, add es—unless the x is silent. Metacritic. You don’t need an apostrophe because the last name is not expressing ownership. If you are referring to a house to belong to a family named "Smith," the sign would read "The Future Home of the Smiths." This way, the question is: Who lives here (not whose house is this)? Here are a few quick rules: Never add an apostrophe. If your goal is to make your last name possessive, then, by all means, use an apostrophe. My last name is Karsies and I am a 4th grade teacher who is a grammar fanatic! What is the correct use of the apostrophe for a sign that reads Future Home Of ... Family's last name? How To Pluralize A Last Name. Making a last name plural should never involve an apostrophe. In English, it is used for three purposes: The marking of the omission of one or more letters (as in the contraction of do not to don't). Another way of escaping the apostrophe is to write a string literal: insert into Person (First, Last) values (q'[Joe]', q'[O'Brien]') This is a better approach, because: Imagine you have an Excel list with 1000's of names you want to upload to your database. Book retailer Waterstones last year to remove the punctuation from its brand name because the last name is standard! Of apostrophes in last names is no need to say: “ Mrs '... Goes after a family whose name is not expressing ownership an s, z, ch, no! All means, use an apostrophe s is used to show possession it would to... 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