The DU Lounge

malthaussen

(18,281 posts)

19. That's how Strunk and White do it.

Thu Aug 14, 2025, 09:07 AM

Aug 14

An " 's" to indicate possession is always correct. There's no need to drop the "s," but writers have gotten progressively lazier over the years.

Fun factoid (if you find this sort of thing fun): the " 's" is a contraction to stand in for "his." In earlier English, possession of something would be indicated by saying (eg) "John, his hat." They decided that was too silly-sounding, and so used the contraction " 's" instead: "John's hat."
And no, they weren't much worried about pronouns in those days.

-- Mal

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

2 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

erronis raging moderate

25 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

And then there's the Oxford comma [View all] Oeditpus Rex Aug 12 OP

I love it. Guess you could say I love clarifying ambiguity. 🤭 Polly Hennessey Aug 12 #1

Why use it Oeditpus Rex Aug 12 #5

Personally, I prefer a consistent style. unblock Aug 12 #7

"I love my parents, bob and jane." unblock Aug 12 #6

That sentence could (and should) easily be recast: Oeditpus Rex Aug 12 #8

Not to forget the missing (or extra) apostrophe. erronis Aug 12 #2

It's an anti-hacking measure. Hackers inject some code there. Not sure why hacking is problem w titles, but not reply.nt Bernardo de La Paz Aug 12 #3

Like when Dodgers fans complain Oeditpus Rex Aug 12 #10

I still get tripped up frequently when constructing a possessive with names that end with 's'. erronis Aug 12 #11

Yep. The family Roberts. PoindexterOglethorpe Aug 12 #14

In recent decades? WestMichRad Aug 12 #15

I was taught Oeditpus Rex Aug 12 #17

That's how Strunk and White do it. malthaussen Aug 14 #19

"Its a shame about it's abuse! " PoindexterOglethorpe Aug 12 #13

I try to avoid ambiguity, but it always finds me. Harker Aug 12 #4

I feel the same way to. lpbk2713 Aug 12 #9

At least too of us. erronis Aug 12 #12

Got into a battle over the Oxford Coma LogDog75 Aug 12 #16

Understanding meaning is the entire point of grammar Oeditpus Rex Aug 12 #18

I submit there is a subtle difference you're ignoring. malthaussen Aug 14 #20

You're doing what many Oxford comma adherents do: Oeditpus Rex Aug 14 #21

Of course not. malthaussen Aug 14 #22

... Oeditpus Rex Aug 14 #23

Vampire Weekend Coventina Aug 15 #24

Word Crimes, eh? OldBaldy1701E Aug 15 #25