I have a few questions about the English language that I am unsure of and here I go: 1. When do you use ' or 's on a noun that ends in s? Example: That is Chris' boat. or That is Chris's boat. I have seen it used both ways but do not know which is correct. 2. When reading a newspaper or magazine and they quote somebody you sometimes see words in parentheses () or brackets []. When do you use one and when do you use the other? I have some more but once I remember them I will post them.
I have seen it before even in publications. That does not mean it is right but it does not mean it isn't either.
while we're at it, can we dig into the whole there, their, they're "controversy," and you're vs. your? there are perhaps three people on the board who get this right. perhaps you're among them?
Yours truly is among them as well. Hmm, well...I'm an english major and it seems as though I was wrong on #1. I just googled and s's IS right. My 6th grade english teacher lied to me.
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/nouns-possessive.htm The 1nt3rw3b is the last place to correct grammar, lulz.
1. You are wrong. You are supposed to add "'s" on singular nouns that end in "s" - "Chris's boat" unless it is an unusual word that makes pronunciation awkward. You only add " ' " on plural nouns that end in "s". 2. Brackets are for words that don't exist in the original quotation - filling in a first name or the like. Parenthesis in quotes either should have been there originally if it is written. If it was an interview or something I would think whoever wrote it meant to use brackets.
Jesus's boat was painted orange. The goats' home was destroyed in the storm. Oscar's night was ruined when Michael arrived.
I could've swore that I was educated the same way. Whenever a word ends in s, you just add the apostrophe and never apostrophe + s. Guess you learn something new everyday.
AP style is of some use here. Proper names that end in s always take an apostrophe with no extra s. Plural nouns ending in s always take only an apostrophe with no extra s. Singular nouns ending in s always take the apostrophe and the s unless the next word begins with an s. (e.g. "hostess's invitation" vs. "witness' story")
I'm pretty sure you use the square brackets when you are replacing a word in a quote. Like if the speaker Mike said "Dotty walks my dog" you could quote it as "Dotty walks [Mike's] dog." Parentheses I think are used for editorial comment. "Dotty (Mike's housekeeper) walks my dog". I'm not 100% on these though, 'cause I only took 1 journalism class in high school.
This is a good one. Was never sure about it. I end up saying 'eseses' like Homer says 'Flanderseses'.
