{"id":62,"date":"2020-01-28T07:00:03","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T13:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=62"},"modified":"2021-02-18T11:55:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-18T17:55:40","slug":"tips-on-apostrophes-with-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/apostrophes\/tips-on-apostrophes-with-names\/","title":{"rendered":"Plural and Possessive Forms with Names Ending in y<\/em> or i<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

How do you form the plural of a proper noun that ends in y<\/em> such as Murphy<\/em>? Should you change the name to Murphies<\/em>? Given how other English words ending in y<\/em> form their plurals, you would think so.
\nExamples:<\/strong><\/em>
\npuppy \/ puppies
\narmy \/ armies
\nsupply \/ supplies<\/em><\/p>\n

However, proper nouns are not pluralized the same way common nouns are.
\nRule:<\/strong><\/em> Do not change the spelling of a name to make it plural. Instead, just add s<\/em>.
\nExamples:<\/strong><\/em>
\nI visited the Murphys last weekend.<\/em>
\nWe have two Zacharys in our office.<\/em><\/p>\n

What if you want to show possession with a name that ends in y<\/em>?
\nRule:<\/strong><\/em> To show singular possession, use the apostrophe and then the s<\/em>.
\nExample:<\/strong> I petted Mrs. Murphy’s cat.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rule:<\/strong><\/em> To show plural possession, make the proper noun plural first, then use the apostrophe.
\nExamples:<\/strong><\/em>
\nI petted the Murphys’ cat.<\/em>
\nI visited the Murphys’ store on Main Street.<\/em><\/p>\n

Some of you may be wondering about names ending in i<\/em>. The rules for pluralization, singular possession, and plural possession are the same as the rules for names ending in y<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Plural:<\/strong>\u00a0Coincidentally, there are three Pattis performing in that band.<\/em>
\nSingular possessive:<\/strong> I have to leave now for an appointment at Dr. Petrucciani’s office.<\/em>
\nPlural possessive:<\/strong> Patti greatly admires the Petruccianis’ garden.<\/em><\/p>\n

For a detailed explanation of how to show the plural of names ending in s<\/em>, ch<\/em>, or z<\/em>, please see Apostrophes with Names Ending in s<\/em>, ch<\/em>, or z<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

1. I wish I had known the Kennedys\/Kennedies\/Kennedy’s better.<\/p>\n

2. I know three Mary’s\/Marys who live in Bangkok.<\/p>\n

3. Mary’s\/Marys dog is very friendly.<\/p>\n

4. If the Kennedies’\/Kennedys’\/Kennedy’s home comes up for sale, I will buy it.<\/p>\n

5. If Mrs. Kennedys’\/Kennedy’s home comes up for sale, I will buy it.<\/p>\n

6. Both Cathis\/Cathi’s in our class used to live in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

7. Marcin Wasilewskis\/Wasilewski’s\/Wasilewskis’ piano playing is much admired. [last name is Wasilewski]<\/p>\n

8. We’re looking forward to the Super Bowl party at the Wasilewskis\/Wasilewski’s\/Wasilewskis’ house.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. I wish I had known the Kennedys<\/strong> better.<\/p>\n

2. I know three Marys<\/strong> who live in Bangkok.<\/p>\n

3. Mary’s<\/strong> dog is very friendly.<\/p>\n

4. If the Kennedys’<\/strong> home comes up for sale, I will buy it.<\/p>\n

5. If Mrs. Kennedy’s<\/strong> home comes up for sale, I will buy it.<\/p>\n

6. Both Cathis<\/strong> in our class used to live in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

7. Marcin Wasilewski’s<\/strong> piano playing is much admired.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0We’re looking forward to the Super Bowl party at the\u00a0Wasilewskis’<\/b>\u00a0house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do you form the plural of a proper noun that ends in y such as Murphy? Should you change the name to Murphies? Given how other English words ending in y form their plurals, you would think so. Examples: puppy \/ puppies army \/ armies supply \/ supplies However, proper nouns are not pluralized […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apostrophes","category-singular-vs-plural"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}