1. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    z' or z's or zes ...

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by cutecat22, Jul 13, 2014.

    OK, I have a sentence about shaking someone's hand, I have written:
    ..he said as he shook Mr. Ramirez' hand.

    Wondering if it should be:

    ..he said as he shook Mr. Ramirezes hand.
    ..he said as he shook Mr. Ramirez's hand.
    ..he said as he shook Mr. Ramirezs' hand.

    Am thinking maybe the middle one now I see them all typed there.

    Confusing myself now ... (yes I know that's not hard!)
     
  2. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

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    You would still use an apostrophe + "s," so your second example is correct ("Ramirez's hand").
     
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  3. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    Thanks @thirdwind Knew you would come through for me.

    I confused myself thinking along the same lines as names with S at the end, like Jess. You wouldn't write 'Jess's' (or, I wouldn't) and then I went steadily downhill from there! :)
     
  4. A.M.P.

    A.M.P. People Buy My Books for the Bio Photo Contributor

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    No matter the name, the rules are generally the same;

    Anything with an 's' gets an apostraphy (Princess', Chris', ect.) unless it's a plural noun, then it becomes 'eses' such as "The many princesses of Canada"

    Anything that doesn't finish with an 's' gets an s after the apostraphy (Alex's, Lord's, Chair's legs, home's roof)as it either denotes a conjoined 'is' or relates the following words as possessive.
     
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  5. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    Thank you - I think I knew but you know when you look at something too much and overthink it, you eventually convince yourself that everything is wrong!
     
  6. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

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    You can actually leave off the "s" after the apostrophe, and it would still be OK (i.e., "Ramirez' hand"). As far as I know, there's no authoritative ruling on this.
     
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  7. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    ARGH!!! You lot just like to send me doolally tap! :rofl:
     
  8. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

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    Haha. You should be fine as long as you're consistent throughout the manuscript. Also, I know that some magazines/publishers have their own in-house rules, so don't be surprised if [z's] gets changed to [z'] or vice versa.
     
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