I've made the terrible mistake of calling the central character in my novel Giles.

So the question is:

Giles' (Giles' car was parked outside)

or

Giles's (Giles's car was parked outside)

I've gone with "Giles's" on the basis that it sounds better & from memory there's a street in Oxford called "St Giles's". Those Oxford types should know - shouldn't they?

But which is right?


Rupe

As I recall, according to Hart's Rules, if it's one syllable, you do add 's - hence, Giles's, St James's Church, Mr Hobbs's. If it's two, you don't - Mr Andrews' book, shop-front.

I think there are some refinements, but that's the basic rule.

Emma

<Added>

Oops! Clicked post before I'd sorted that first para out.

Mr Andrews' book, Sarah Waters' novel,

I'm James, and this is James's comment.

JB

<Added>

Incidentally, Giles was the name of my first boyfriend. WE lasted 5 years but then things turned nasty. It was all Giles's fault. ;)

I'd have said the same, as Emma but I'd have defined it by whether you'd pronounce the possessive as an extra syllable - you can hear the possession on the end of James's, so you need the s. You can't hear the possession on the end of girls' (ie you wouldn't say "girlses").

Thanks all. I'll go with Giles's then. It sounded right all along, but now I've got those rules to refer to I feel much better equipped.

Things get a bit nasty in the novel too. It's all Sara's fault.

My male MC is called Miles and after 2 years nearly working with him, i've decided on Miles's

I'll go with Giles's then

Why not? Everybody else did. Sob.

JB

LOL JB - or not...

I would put Giles's, and I completely fail to understand why the rule should be different for words of two syllables. Can anyone explain the logic of that to me? Is it simply because it makes the whole word too unwieldy by making it effectively 3 syllables? (if you pronounce the extra s, that is)

Deb

I don't think it is dependent on one or two syllables, tbh. I think it's how you would say it.

You would say "Gilezez coat" but you wouldn't say "the boyzez bikes".

So you would add the extra s to get "Giles's", (or James's, or Jesus's) but you'd miss it off for words where you don't hear that possessive ending, eg "boys'".

Does that make sense?

In New Hart's Rules it says to just use an apostrophe without the extra s when otherwise would cause difficulty in pronounciation, 'typically after longer names that are not acccented on the last or penultimate syllable'

great little book, that... it's full of RULE, Kate

I have no issues at all with rules of grammar, spelling, syntax and punctuation, Casey. I spent 15 years teaching them!

You dark horse, you

Thanks, Casey, I wasn't remembering accurately, then. Can't think where my copy's gone...

Emma

Before I was a writer, Casey, I was a primary teacher, and then a secondary school one. So I've taught students from 7-19 over the years, plus I did did a stint as a teacher of adults (coached a wonderful mum of 5 who had no qualifications to start with, and she ended up with two A grades in English). I measured out my youth in marginal ticks and circles! Show me a grammar book, and I'm a happy woman.

I'm seeing you in a whole new light now, Kate

All that experience and you haven't yet set one of your novels in a school?
I've just started Swallowing Grandma, BTW - already hate Poll.