I not so good at grammar.
So it's Chris' blog, is it?
Shoot. That was my other choice - but I didn't have enough time to Google the correct location of an apostrophe. Did you know that I have a friend who is a PUBLISHED author? She actually writes for a living. It doesn't seem fair that I could spend so much time in her company and not at least know the possessive for a name that ends in "s."
(This is just one of the many reasons why I'll never be an author.)
In other news's' ...
I came home tonight from work to find my baby running around the back yard in a pair of rain boots. That's it, rain boots.
He doesn't like clothes and when I confronted my husband about our child's lack of appropriate outdoor wear, Charlie said "Well, I'm not going to force him to wear pants if he doesn't want to wear them." I tried to argue, "Charlie! Are you out of your mind? It's December and 50 degrees outside!" To which my husband responded, "Soon enough, he'll realize I'M COLD. Jen, this child has got to LEARN!"
Yes. I suppose our toddler might eventually come to this realization. Kinda like how he learned to run and hide when Mommy cooks?
Exhibit 1: This was the breakfast I prepared yesterday...
It might be difficult for the untrained eye to see, but I put a little too much batter on the waffle iron. As a result of my cooking prowess, the waffle iron sealed shut. I couldn't open it again without the use of a screwdriver and as a result, my waffles totally burned.
Quick! Mom is waffling! Implement emergency back up plan!!
"OK Kids! Who wants Cheerios?!"
Not only will I never be a published author, I'll never be a professional chef.
Dove quote of the day: "Believe in yourself and everyone will do the same."
Unless ... it has to do with cooking and you are of the sort that routinely calls upon a flat head screwdriver to make your children's breakfasts.
You need to educate Charlie, and fast!
ReplyDeleteLittle kids do not feel the cold in the way that we do! They haven't developed the temerature regulators needed to determin that they feel cold. That is why little children are more prone to getting chest infections and severe illnesses like pneumonia. Their parents wait for them to realise they are cold but they never say and wake up the next day with a stinking cold. That is why they have parents - to tell them to put clothes on because it is cold!
Sorry if that reads like a rant or a criticism. I don't mean it to. Lots of adults have that attitude (me included, once upon a time) and have to learn the hard way.
Well, I'm a former English teacher and I think you can use either Chris' or Chris's -- just be consistent with your usage. "Her's" on the other hand....
ReplyDeleteActually, you were well within your right to use "Chris's." My son's name is Chris and after going back and forth, I have decided to use Chris's for my proper name possessive.
ReplyDeleteHere is some proof:
I favor 's after words ending in "s", but as quoted from the Chicago Manual of Style in the link below: "How to form the possessive of polysyllabic personal names ending with the sound of "s" or "z" probably occasions more dissension among writers and editors than any other orthographic matter open to disagreement." (6.30)
"Different style manuals handle this in different ways. The Chicago Manual of Style, which is the manual for book editing, recommends that most possessives of proper names include an extra "s." It makes exceptions for Jesus, Moses, and names of more than one syllable with an unaccented ending pronouned "eez." Thus, Euripides', not Euripides's.How to form the possessive of polysllabic personal names ending with the sound of 's' or 'z'..."
http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/grammar/Apostro3.html
Naked running in rain boots... classic!
ReplyDeleteYes he will learn that he is cold...hopefully before he gets sick from being chilled! Still looks like a yummy breakfast!
ReplyDeleteoh, I'm laughing. Not at you. With you. Seeing this kinda takes the sting off my turkey briquette of 2008. only slightly.
ReplyDeleteThankfullyl my kids love french toast. I've discovered that after the first flip you can turn off the burner and walk away and there is enough heat left on the pan to cook the other side. I've done my fair share of burning the french toast. : )
ReplyDeleteThanks for the laugh!
all I did was laugh through this post. I have nothing coherent to offer. LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm an English teacher still in school, about to go for my Ph.D in Rhetoric. The whole "s" issue is really up for debate, and you totally were not wrong.
ReplyDeleteMost style guides (MLA, Chicago, AP) just choose a rule and use it consistently, which is your best best wiht any disputed grammar issue. Most agree that it depends on whether the "s" at the end of the noun is syllabant. e.g. "Chris's" is largely acceptable, but few style guides recommend "Jesus's," instead preferring "Jesus'." However, most people say "Jesus's" when speaking to emphasize the possession.
It's hotly contested among grammarians and copyeditors (re: total nerds), but you were in the majority and have style guides on your side.
Tell Charlie to birth triplets and raise four children under five, then see if he can live a typo-free life.
LOVE your blog, even though I'm just a 20-yr-old senior in college with no babies of my own. Mommy blogs (especially multiple mommy blogs) are awesome, if only for the blogger's character and insights into the wacky world of children's minds.