Blog Post #3

Louis’s Best Day Ever

On Friday I dropped of a manuscript for editorial review and decided to take my dog, Louis, along so we could visit Elbow Falls afterwards. But, before we get to Louis enjoying The Great Outdoors, I’d like to talk style for a bit.

Should the title be: “Louis’ Best Day Ever” or “Louis’s Best Day Ever”?

For Recliner Books’ house style we turn to The Chicago Manual of Style:

Possessives of titles and names

The possessive of a title or name is formed by adding ’s {Lloyd’s of London’s records} {National Geographic Society’s headquarters} {Dun & Bradstreet’s rating}. This is so even when the word ends in a sibilant {Dickens’s novels} {Dow Jones’s money report}, unless the word itself is formed from a plural {General Motors’ current production rate} {Applied Materials’ financial statements}. But if a word ends in a sibilant, it is acceptable (especially in journalism) to use a final apostrophe without the additional s {Bill Gates’ testimony}.

Proper nouns, letters, and numbers

The general rule covers most proper nouns, including names ending in s, x, or z, in both their singular and plural forms, as well as letters and numbers.

{Kansas’s legislature} / {the Williamses’ new house}

{Chicago’s lakefront} / {Malraux’s masterpiece}

{Burns’s poems} / {Inez’s diary}

{Marx’s theories} / {the Martinezes’ daughter}

{Berlioz’s works} / {Josquin des Prez’s motets}

{Strauss’s Vienna } / {dinner at the Browns’ (that is, at the Browns’ home)}

{Dickens’s novels} / {FDR’s legacy}

{the Lincolns’ marriage } / {1999’s heaviest snowstorm}

{Williams’s reputation}

The rule applies equally to company names that include a punctuation point.

{Yahoo!’s chief executive}

Rewording may be advisable to avoid such awkward possessives as “the Rogerses’ address”

Exceptions to the General rule:

1. Nouns plural in form, singular in meaning. {politics’ true meaning}{Recliner Books’ house style}

2. Names like “Euripedes.” {Euripedes’ tragedies}

3. Words and names ending in unpronounced “s”. {Albert Camus’ novels}

4. Other exceptions. For . . . sake expressions {for goodness’ sake}

With that bit of style behind us, here are some highlights from Louis’s best day ever:

Louis is buckled in and ready to go

Meeting a cow for the first time. I wasn't sure how close to let them get to each other.

Checking out the falls.

Elbow Falls