Which of the three should be used? Gauss law vs Gauss' law vs Gauss's law? The middle one seems most correct but does that make the others incorrect? Or is it a matter of preference. Also, how do the three differ in pronounciation?
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Syntactically speaking, both the possessive apostrophe *and* the possessive "s" itself should be present. We always drop that final "s" after a noun that ends with two consecutive "s" sounds such as Jesus or Moses (in both speech and writing). But we usually include it after nouns ending in a single "s" (so it's I like Gus's* car, not I like Gus car*). – FumbleFingers Dec 02 '21 at 12:29
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But see this usage chart. *Gauss's law* is the most common orthography, but both the other forms do occur. The basic principle is *Write the possessive letter "s" IF you pronounce it, not otherwise*. – FumbleFingers Dec 02 '21 at 12:31
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It's usually as FF says, Gauss's law: like "Keats's poems". But as Lynne Truss said, the rules are a matter of style and preference and are not set in stone. – Old Brixtonian Dec 02 '21 at 12:38
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2@Old Brixtonian Some wag named their pub "The Misplaced Apostrophe's ". – Edwin Ashworth Dec 02 '21 at 15:34
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1@Edwin Ashworth. Love it :-) Living where I do, yet supporting NUFC, I regularly visit both St Thomas' Hospital and St. James' Park: their official names, as Truss pointed out. – Old Brixtonian Dec 02 '21 at 19:46