Grammar question: s-apostrophe vs. s-apostrophe-s
Hi folks! For anyone still around these parts, would you be willing to weigh in on a grammar question?
The question:
When doing the possessive form of a name that already ends in 's' (e.g. Remus), in British English, should one add just an apostrophe, or an apostrophe plus an additional letter s, or is either variant okay?
That is to say: "Remus' cloak" or "Remus's cloak"?
Generally speaking, both of these can be considered correct in English as a whole, but with varying preferences about it. I've looked at a few style guides and they literally all advocate something different. (Some go for the apostrophe-plus-s, some for just the apostrophe; some advocate both, depending on circumstance, with a lot of rules to govern which is used when, e.g. depending on whether the word is a proper noun or not, or on how the word is pronounced.)
All I want to know is:
In British English, is this a similarly free-for-all matter (preferences vary, but both can be considered technically correct) or is one definitely right and one wrong?
(Looking at the HP books, it looks like JKR does use the additional s with names that end in s, but not with nouns that end in s because they're plural - e.g. in the phrase "Tonks's parents' house" - extra s on Tonks (a singular name that happens to end in s) but not on parents (plural noun).
So. If I continue to follow my personal preference on this (which happens to be without the s, like "Remus' cloak" - I don't know why, it's just what my preference has landed on over the years) is that okay, maybe considered a variant, but technically not incorrect? Or is it essential that I change to writing "Remus's cloak" if I want to be writing actual British English?
Long post about a small matter, but I really do find these details fascinating! Thank you for listening. :D
The question:
When doing the possessive form of a name that already ends in 's' (e.g. Remus), in British English, should one add just an apostrophe, or an apostrophe plus an additional letter s, or is either variant okay?
That is to say: "Remus' cloak" or "Remus's cloak"?
Generally speaking, both of these can be considered correct in English as a whole, but with varying preferences about it. I've looked at a few style guides and they literally all advocate something different. (Some go for the apostrophe-plus-s, some for just the apostrophe; some advocate both, depending on circumstance, with a lot of rules to govern which is used when, e.g. depending on whether the word is a proper noun or not, or on how the word is pronounced.)
All I want to know is:
In British English, is this a similarly free-for-all matter (preferences vary, but both can be considered technically correct) or is one definitely right and one wrong?
(Looking at the HP books, it looks like JKR does use the additional s with names that end in s, but not with nouns that end in s because they're plural - e.g. in the phrase "Tonks's parents' house" - extra s on Tonks (a singular name that happens to end in s) but not on parents (plural noun).
So. If I continue to follow my personal preference on this (which happens to be without the s, like "Remus' cloak" - I don't know why, it's just what my preference has landed on over the years) is that okay, maybe considered a variant, but technically not incorrect? Or is it essential that I change to writing "Remus's cloak" if I want to be writing actual British English?
Long post about a small matter, but I really do find these details fascinating! Thank you for listening. :D