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Ok, I am really confused regarding apostrophe with the s and the end of the word. I have looked through multiple sites only to see multiple viewpoints. And, on tests they test it differently. So, can anyone help me with the following problem:

The only evidence of the species survival before its rediscovery at the end of the century was an unconfirmed recording.

Would it be species' or species's ?

There is a lot of advice on the internet about how to use possessive S with names such as the following:

Per APA Style, the answer is that the possessive of a singular name is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s, even when the name ends in s (see p. 96 in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual). Therefore, in the example above, the correct usage would be “Adams’s (2013) work.” Although this presentation may look awkward to some writers, the rule for forming the possessive does not change just because the name ends in s.

However, it is important to note the following exception to this rule: You should use an apostrophe only with the singular form of names ending in unpronounced s (see p. 97 in the Publication Manual). Therefore, if you were writing a paper about the philosopher Descartes, to form the possessive with his name, you would need to just add an apostrophe (e.g., Descartes’ theory).

To help illustrate these guidelines, let’s look at a few more examples of properly formatted possessives:

Sigmund Freud’s method

<p>Jesus’s disciples</p>

<p>Charles Dickens’s novels</p>

<p>Socrates’s life</p>

<p>François Rabelais’ writings (note that Rabelais ends with an unpronounced s)</p>

However, the word species in the sentence above is not a name. The case with species does not seem to be a normal case like dog's or dogs' or even on a par with bus's or buses'. It's difficult to put ones finger on why, though.

Araucaria - Him
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G.B
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  • Both attributive noun vs Saxon genitive, and preferred form of the latter, are multiple duplicates. For individual examples concerning the former, check data. eg Google Ngrams. Beware false positives such as 'The American Species Survival Plan or SSP program'. / Here, would you say John survival was nothing short of miraculous or John's survival was nothing short of miraculous ? – Edwin Ashworth Oct 04 '17 at 07:57
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    Possible duplicate of What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in "‑s"? – Tonepoet Oct 04 '17 at 17:32
  • If you are not sure write "survival of the species". Clear and reads better. Nothing like getting into the habit of using prepositions! – David Oct 04 '17 at 20:03
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    CMS also says "species' survival" is okay, and it seems the best to me. – Xanne Oct 05 '17 at 08:55
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    The rules for forming possessives DOES NOT come out different for common nouns versus proper nouns. That's why it's the species’ survival and Aristophanes’ plays and the bus’s brakes and the people’s court. It a sound law not a written rule, and the sound law has no exceptions because it's part of the real language not an artifact of writing. – tchrist Oct 06 '17 at 10:48
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    @tchrist It isn't merely a sound rule. It also depends on the grammar. Making bus possessive results in /bʌsɪz/ but making buses possessive does not result in /bʌsɪzɪz/ and making loris possessive does result in /lɒrɪsɪz/. Effectively the rule states that we don't stick a possessive S suffix on another S suffix. In your list of possessive forms, species does not straightforwardly follow the rule because even when in the singular as in the OP's example, it does not take the /ɪz/ suffix, when theoretically, it ought to ... – Araucaria - Him Oct 06 '17 at 11:50
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    @tchrist ... The reason is presumably that species is morphologically plural even when grammatically singular.This kind of thing rarely happens with proper nouns, because singular people rarely have morphologically plural names. If you see what I mean. – Araucaria - Him Oct 06 '17 at 11:52

2 Answers2

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The online Chicago Manual of Style (both 16th and 17th editions) states:

When the singular form of a noun ending in s is the same as the plural (i.e., the plural is uninflected), the possessives of both are formed by the addition of an apostrophe only. If ambiguity threatens, use of to avoid the possessive.

And gives the following examples:

politics’ true meaning
economics’ forerunners
this species’ first record (or, better, the first record of this species)

This is section 7.19 of the 16th edition and 7.20 of the 17th edition (2017).

Obviously this differs to my comments saying that the CMOS says species's, which I took on faith from a third party website.

However, in speaking, despite remarks by others, I'm not sure I would rule out saying the species's survival (with the extra syllable) just to clarify that I'm talking about the possessive form of the word. This is my opinion only.

Arm the good guys in America
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    Good job doing the research! This looks like it could also be a pretty good answer to https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/412730/is-it-physics-s-or-physics ... unfortunately, that was closed as a "duplicate" of another question that doesn't really answer it (the "duplicate" is about proper nouns specifically) – herisson Oct 06 '17 at 16:54
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    The first part of this is exactly the right answer to the question. +1 (PS, I reckon this shows that the OP had a genuine, helpful, not as straightforward as it may seem, interesting question for readers. It needs upvoting). – Araucaria - Him Oct 06 '17 at 22:38
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Whatever the text books and the Internet sites say, it is my own experience as an English speaker that nobody ever says or writes something like "species's".

We just don't talk like that in the UK. It's too risky, especially if one's false teeth don't fit too well.

The only time I can think of a plural apostrophe being tolerated in daily speech is "Jones's" because it is easy to say.

The natural thing to do - and the way, indeed, that the language has evolved to avoid the above problem - is to say species' in conversation, whether or not the additional 's is added in written English.

Nigel J
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  • So, on a test I should do it based on what I hear? – G.B Oct 04 '17 at 01:41
  • Language develops and modifies in the mouths of those who speak it. We shorten things and add vowels and do all sorts just to be comfortable with what we say. Nothing clumsy lasts long in the evolution of language. – Nigel J Oct 04 '17 at 01:48
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    @Clare I shall never, ever, ever say the word "species's". I regard it as ridiculous. – Nigel J Oct 04 '17 at 02:39
  • Hey Guys, why does Nigel deserve a downvote there, please?

    Just because he didn't explain why, doesn't mean he wasn't wholly correct.

     – Robbie Goodwin Oct 05 '17 at 20:39
  • I sincerely hope CMS doesn't explain it that way. I learned that rule 50 years ago when it was clearly one of pronunciation alone.

    Punctuation decrees a possessive apostrophe after the second s and hands the baton to pronunciation, asking how many esses to sound?

    Jones's can support a trailing s because that is pronounced sess.

    Jesus' can’t. The noun already ended in suss. Whatever punctuation said, pronunciation won’t allow an apostrophe to spatter sussess around.

    Jesus' enters here because the example my teacher used was called Jesus’ Walk.

     – Robbie Goodwin Oct 05 '17 at 21:08
  • @RobbieGoodwin That's what my English speaking instincts tell me; but I would not have been able to explain it like that. – Nigel J Oct 05 '17 at 21:24
  • Ah… but I had a rather special teacher! J Michael Hall also clued me up to The Lord of the Rings. – Robbie Goodwin Oct 05 '17 at 21:45
  • @G.B Yes, do it according to what you hear. – Araucaria - Him Oct 06 '17 at 09:10
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    @G.B. Indeed; and I want to avoid having to pay someone to dry clean my saliva off their clothing once I have said species's to them. – Nigel J Oct 06 '17 at 09:13
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    Why is there not an actual answer included in this "answer". If you don't use species's (which corresponds to a rare pronunciation), then to indicate possession, you need to use species' with an apostrophe after the "s". – Peter Shor Oct 06 '17 at 11:18
  • +1 for "It's too risky, especially if one's false teeth don't fit too well." -- may I ask what level of risk you are talking about (I did read your explanation about dry-cleaning in this comments section, but can it get any riskier @Nigel J?) – English Student Oct 06 '17 at 13:15
  • @PeterShor Done, as required, sir. – Nigel J Oct 06 '17 at 19:51
  • @EnglishStudent I am also on the Health SE so I think I should go into all the unpleasant details in a Question entitled 'The Possessive Apostrophe and its Influence on Bodily Fluids in the United Kingdom'. – Nigel J Oct 06 '17 at 19:54
  • That wood be better for all concerned @Nigel J! – English Student Oct 06 '17 at 20:20