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Peter Beale · November 24th 03, 05:50 PM posted to uk.transport.london

In article m, (Martin Underwood) wrote:

My New Oxford Dictionary of English (OUP, 1998-2001), page 1632, says
the
following:

's :- suffix denoting possession in singular nouns, also in plural
nouns not
having a final -s: the car's engine | Mrs Ross's son | the children's
teacher

So they actually give an example "Mrs Ross's son" not "Mrs Ross' son",
suggesting that the former is acceptable and/or preferable to the
latter.

If we're going to the OUP Dictionary Dept, in the Oxford Guide to English
Usage things are a bit more complicated: the general rule is as above, but...

French names ending in silent s or x add -'s, which is pronounced as z, e.g.
Dumas's, Crémieux's;

Names ending in -es pronounced iz are treated like plurals and take only
an apostrophe, e.g. Bridges', Moses', Hodges', Riches';

Polysyllables not accented on the last or second last syllable can take the
apostrophe alone, but the form with -'s is equally acceptable, e.g.
Barnabas' or Barnabas's, Nicholas' or Nicholas's;

It is the custom in classical works to use the apostrophe only, irrespective
of pronunciation, for ancient classical names ending in -s, e.g. Demosthenes',
Mars', Venus', Xerxes';

Jesus' "is an acceptable liturgical archaism" (Hart's Rules, p31). But in non-
liturgical use, Jesus's is acceptable.

With the possessive preceding the word sake, be guided by the pronunciation,
e.g. for goodness' sake, but for God's sake, for Charles's sake*.

After -x and -z, use -'s, e.g. Ajax's, Berlioz's music, Leibniz's law, Lenz's law.

* Not mentioned there, but NSOED gives either for conscience sake or for
conscience' sake!

--
Peter Beale