Possessive of Proper Names Ending in S

Possessive of Proper Names Ending in S Possessive of Proper Names Ending in S Possessive of Proper Names Ending in S By Maeve Maddox Should one write â€Å"Jesus’ name† or â€Å"Jesus’s name†? Which is correct, â€Å"Travis’ friend† or â€Å"Travis’s friend†? The questions on the use of the apostrophe to form the possessive keep coming. This post is about how to form the possessive of a proper name that ends in -s. Most stylebooks agree that the rule for forming the possessive of a singular noun ending in -s is formed by adding ’s: the boss’s birthday the bus’s wheels the witness’s testimony When it comes to forming the possessive of a proper name that ends in s, guides disagree. Some stylebooks recommend a single apostrophe for Biblical or classical names like Jesus and Achilles, but ’s for names like James and Charles; others say, â€Å"Treat all names ending in s the same.† The Chicago Manual of Style once recommended a single apostrophe to form the possessive of Biblical or classical names: Moses’ tent Achilles’ helmet Jesus’ name Some guides still recommend this usage, but CMOS has changed its policy in a spirit of consistency; now it recommends that all proper names ending in -s form their possessive by adding ’s: Moses’s tent Achilles’s helmet Jesus’s name Travis’s friends Dickens’s novels Descartes’s philosophy Franà §ois’s efforts Tacitus’s Histories Kansas’s legislature Euripides’s tragedies the Ganges’s source Equally consistent, the Associated Press Style Book opts for a single apostrophe for all proper names ending in -s: Moses’ tent Achilles’ helmet Jesus’ name Travis’ friends Dickens’ novels Descartes’ philosophy Franà §ois’ efforts Tacitus’ Histories Kansas’ legislature Euripides’ tragedies the Ganges’ source The New York Times style manual generally agrees with CMOS, but adds this wrinkle: Omit the  s  after the apostrophe when a word ends in two sibilant soundsseparated only by a vowel sound:  Kansas’ Governor;  Texas’ population;  Moses’ behalf But when a name ends with a sibilant letter that is silent, keep the possessive  s:  Arkansas’s Disagreement on the issue of apostrophe s vs. plain apostrophe goes all the way to the Supreme Court. Justice Clarence Thomas believes that the possessive form of a name like his should be formed by adding only an apostrophe: â€Å"Justice Thomas’ opinion.† Referring to the case Kansas v. Marsh (2006), Thomas wrote â€Å"Kansas’ statute,† but his colleague Justice Souter wrote â€Å"Kansas’s statute.† If you write for publication, how you treat the possessive of proper names that end in -s will be determined by your employer’s house style. If you are free to choose which style to follow, keep in mind that the writer’s goal is to convey thoughts as clearly as possible to readers. Style guides exist to assist writers in this goal, but it seems to me that there are problems with the recommendations of all three guides mentioned above. I prefer the guidelines given in the Penguin Guide to Punctuation: A name ending in s takes only an apostrophe if the possessive form is not pronounced with an extra s. Hence: Socrates’ philosophy, Ulysses’ companions, Saint Saens’ music, Aristophanes’ plays. The reasoning behind this rule is that as we don’t say [sok-ru-teez-iz], there’s no reason to write â€Å"Socrates’s.† Punctuation is supposed to aid readers, not puzzle them. It’s no help to readers unfamiliar with English pronunciation to mislead them into trying to say [dick-inz-iz], or [u-rip-uh-deez-iz] by writing â€Å"Dickens’s novels† or â€Å"Euripides’s plays.† The bottom line is that stylebooks do not agree on whether to write â€Å"Jesus’ name† or â€Å"Jesus’s name,† â€Å"Travis’ friend† or â€Å"Travis’s friend.† Writers not bound by a specific style manual must make their own decision and be consistent with it. Personally, I’d write â€Å"Jesus’ name† and â€Å"Travis’s friend† because I would say â€Å"[jee-zus] name† and â€Å"[trav-is-iz] friend.† Related Post: Charles’s Pen and Jesus’ Name Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Similes from Literature to Inspire YouAnyone vs. EveryoneTypes of Plots

Ohalo II, the Upper Paleolithic Site on the Sea of Galilee

Ohalo II, the Upper Paleolithic Site on the Sea of Galilee Ohalo II is the name of a submerged late Upper Paleolithic (Kebaran) site located on the southwest shore of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) in the Rift Valley of Israel. The site was discovered in 1989 when the level of the lake plummeted. The site is 9 kilometers (5.5 miles) south of the modern city of Tiberias. The site covers an area of 2,000 square meters (about a half an acre), and the remains are of an extremely well-preserved hunter-gatherer-fisher camp. The site is typical of Kebaran sites, containing the floors and wall bases of six oval brush huts, six open-air hearths  and a human grave. The site was occupied during the Last Glacial Maximum, and has an occupation date between 18,000-21,000 RCYBP, or between 22,500 and 23,500 cal BP. Animal and Plant Remains Ohalo II is remarkable in that  since it had been submerged, the preservation of organic materials was excellent, providing very rare evidence of food sources for late Upper Paleolithic/Epipaleolithic communities. Animals represented by bones in the faunal assemblage include fish, tortoise, birds, hare, fox, gazelle, and deer. Polished bone points and several enigmatic bone tools were recovered, as were tens of thousands of seeds and fruits representing almost 100 taxa from the living surface. Plants include an assortment of herbs, low shrubs, flowers, and grasses, including wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum), mallow (Malva parviflora), groundsel (Senecio glaucus), thistle (Silybum marianum(), Melilotus indicus and a slew of others too numerous to mention here. The flowers at Ohalo II represent the earliest known use of flowers by Anatomically Modern Humans. Some may have been used for medicinal purposes. The edible remains are dominated by seeds from small-grained grasses and wild cereals, although nuts, fruits, and legumes are also present. Ohalos collections include over 100,000 seeds, including the earliest identification of emmer wheats [Triticum dicoccoides or T. turgidum ssp. dicoccoides (kà ¶rn.) Thell], in the form of several charred seeds. Other plants include wild almond (Amygdalus communis), wild olive (Olea europaea var sylvestris), wild pistachio (Pistacia atlantica), and wild grape (Vitis vinifera spp sylvestris). Three fragments of twisted and plied fibers were discovered at Ohalo; they are the oldest evidence of string-making discovered yet. Living at Ohalo II The floors of the six brush huts were oval in shape, with an area of between 5-12 square meters (54-130 square feet), and the entrance-way from at least two was from the east. The largest hut was built of tree branches (tamarisk and oak) and covered by grasses. The floors of the huts were shallowly excavated prior to their construction. All of the huts were burned. The working surface of a grinding stone found at the site was covered with barley starch grains, indicating that at least some of the plants were processed for food or medicine. Plants in evidence on the stones surface include wheat, barley, and oats. But the majority of the plants are believed to represent the brush used for housing. Flint, bone and wooden tools, basalt net sinkers, and hundreds of shell beads made from mollusks brought from the Mediterranean Sea were also identified. The single grave at Ohalo II is an adult male, who had a disabled hand and a penetrating wound to his rib cage. A bone tool found near the skull is a piece of gazelle long bone incised with parallel markings. Ohalo II was discovered in 1989 when lake levels dropped. Excavations organized by the Israeli Antiquities Authority have continued at the site when lake levels permit, led by Dani Nadel. Sources Allaby RG, Fuller DQ, and Brown TA. 2008. The genetic expectations of a protracted model for the origins of domesticated crops. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105(37):13982-13986. Kislev ME, Nadel D, and Carmi I. 1992. Epipalaeolithic (19,000 BP) cereal and fruit diet at Ohalo II, Sea of Galilee, Israel. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 73(1-4):161-166. Nadel D, Grinberg U, Boaretto E, and Werke E. 2006. Wooden objects from Ohalo II (23,000 cal BP), Jordan Valley, Israel. Journal of Human Evolution 50(6):644-662. Nadel D, Piperno DR, Holst I, Snir A, and Weiss E. 2012. New evidence for the processing of wild cereal grains at Ohalo II, a 23 000-year-old campsite on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Israel . Antiquity 86(334):990-1003. Rosen AM, and Rivera-Collazo I. 2012. Climate change, adaptive cycles, and the persistence of foraging economies during the late Pleistocene/Holocene transition in the Levant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(10):3640-3645. Weiss E, Kislev ME, Simchoni O, Nadel D, and Tschauner H. 2008. Plant-food preparation area on an Upper Paleolithic brush hut floor at Ohalo II, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science 35(8):2400-2414.