Zio Paperone #138-- Genitive

Olivier mouse-ducks at wanadoo.fr
Mon Mar 26 00:01:49 CEST 2001


Hello!

1/
The Genitive is marked by an -s and the end of  the word.
ex:    Fred's house


2/
Exceptions:    Plural nouns ending with an -s
                        Apostrophe only
ex:    Our neighbors' house


3/
This exception does not apply to nouns that end in -s in the singular
                                                                                ex: the waitress's
house
                                                         irregular plurals
                                                                                ex: the children's
house
                                                         acronyms
                                                                                ex: the M.P.'s house


So it is Barks's.
But--


4/
The genitive of  names ending in -s can be written with an apostrophe only
ex:    Dickens' house


So you have the choice, and you can write either    Barks's house
                                                                               or    Barks'   house
(I prefer the latter too)


5/
Whichever way you write it, it is usually pronounced as if  written with an   's


6/
Words in -es:    apostrophe only
ex:    Ulysses' home
         pronounced the same, whether there's the genitive or not


7/
for convenience' sake
for  N-s'  sake



Olivier




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