-'
See also: '
English
Pronunciation
Pronunciation of -s', -es':
- (after a vowel or a voiced consonant other than a sibilant) enPR: z, zəz, IPA(key): /z/, /zɪz/
- (after voiceless consonants /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, or /θ/) enPR: s, səz, IPA(key): /s/, /sɪz/
- (after sibilant consonants /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/):
- (Received Pronunciation, General American, weak vowel distinction) enPR: ĭz, IPA(key): /ɪz/
- (General Australian, weak vowel merger) enPR: əz, IPA(key): /əz/
Particle
-’
- Possessive marker used on plurals that end with -s (or -es, etc).
- Her heart leapt when she saw the expressions on her teachers’ faces.
- their faces’ expressions
- The countesses’ husbands were generally quite lavish.
- Possessive marker sometimes used on singular nouns (names) which end in s, indicating than an object belongs to the noun bearing the marker.
- Jesus' disciples
- Chris' cake recipe
- 2014 August 29, Minyvonne Burke, “Robin Williams Death: Actor’s Ghost Haunting Home He Died In, Playing Practical Jokes?”, in HNGN Headlines & Global News:
- Robin Williams’ ghost has apparently stuck around and is haunting the California home the actor died in.
Usage notes
- The plural possessive -s’ can be distinguished from the possessive marker -' on nouns that terminate in -s and from the possessive marker -'s (which see). Whether they are pronounced identically or differently varies between idiolects. The BBC prescribes the following distinction:[1] (a) Dickens novel and Dickens’ novel /dɪkɪnz nɒvəl/, Dickens’s novel /dɪkɪnzɪz nɒvəl/; princess’s and princesses’ /pɹɪn.sɛs.ɪz/; i.e. adding bare ’ or -(e)s’ does not change pronunciation. Some speakers, however, may pronounce one or both as /ɪz/, i.e. Dickens’ as /ˈdɪkɪnzɪz/, princesses’ as /pɹɪn.sɛs.ɪs.ɪz/, and e.g. boys’ as /bɔɪzɪz/ (instead of the more common /bɔɪz/).
- Traditionally, the possessives of classical and Biblical names ending in s, such as Archimedes and Jesus, were written without a final “s”, i.e. the possessives were formed using bare ': Archimedes’ Principle (the principle of Archimedes), Jesus’ disciples (the disciples of Jesus). This may or may not be be distinguished from -'s in pronunciation; see -'s for more.
- In modern English, this practice may be extended to all names ending in s, i.e. both "Chris' recipe" and "Chris's recipe" may be found, although the American Heritage Dictionary (under the entry "possessive") restricts this to words or names having at least two syllables, such as Dickens' or witness'.
- 2009, Karen Hitchcock, Little White Slips, →ISBN:
- Sam, the Lebanese milk bar man, followed Chris's recipe.
- 2012, Jack Edward Shay, Bygone Binghamton: Remembering People and Places of the Past, →ISBN:
- That was Chris' recipe.
-
- -’ may also be used on nouns ending in an s sound (i.e., not necessarily ending in the letter s).
- 1845, Thomson, Katherine, Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745: John Erskine, Earl of Mar. James Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater. The Master of Sinclair. Cameron of Lochiel, page 118:
- The dose must be carefully made up, and no appearance of its comeing from any other hand but the Doctrix’ own.
- 1943, Reports of Selected Cases Decided in the Appellate Term of the Supreme Court and Other Courts of the State of New York Other Than the Court of Appeals and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court: Miscellaneous Reports, page 282:
- An application by the fiduciaries of the testatrix’ estate for an extension of time to permit the filing of a renunciation on behalf of a beneficiary who postdeceased the testatrix and for approval of same is denied without prejudice to a renewed application on notice to those persons whose interest may be created or increased by the proposed renunciation (EPTL 2-1.11), i.e., the personal representative of the estate of the renouncing party and if there is no fiduciary, the renouncing party’s distributees, since they may be prejudiced by approval of the application.
-
References
- Learning English: Use of the apostrophe
Chickasaw
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʔ/
Suffix
-'
- verb nominalizing suffix
- illi + -' → illi'
- impa + -' → impa'
- Chickasaw terms suffixed with -' (nominalizing verb suffix)
- hortative verb suffix for the 3rd-person singular, used in combination with ik-
- hayoochi + -' → ikhayoochi'
- used on verbs preceding the negative auxiliaryki'yo, indicates the action of the verb is impossible
- Sachaaha' ki'yo.
- I can't be tall.
Danish
Suffix
-'
- forms the possessive of words ending in s, x or z
See also
- -'-
- -s
German
Suffix
-'
- Genitive suffix for words that end in a sibilant consonant. For other names, -s is used.
- Synonym: (dated) -ens
- Hans' Mutter
- Hans' mother
Usage notes
- See notes at -ens.
Norwegian
Suffix
-'
- Used to form the genitive of nouns that already end in -s, -x or -z. For other nouns, -s is used.