Question

What is correct to demonstrate possessive: Chris' or Chris's

Answer 1

Hint: Possessive forms are the forms of “ ‘s”. They are used with nouns and pronouns to show possession. We simply add apostrophe ‘s’ with a noun to convert it into a possessive form. With the singular form of nouns we add ( ‘s ) and in the case of plural nouns, we only add ( ‘ ). But sometimes, we add ‘s with the plural nouns/pronouns as well.

Complete answer:
Since Chris is a noun let us first understand the two types of possessive nouns -
i) Singular possessive noun - Singular noun is a noun that shows ‘one’. Singular possessive shows ‘the ownership of one’. E.g. Dog’s bone i.e. bone of the dog.

ii) Plural possessive noun - Plural possessive shows ‘ the ownership of more than one’. E.g. Sheep’s wool i.e. the wool of sheep. While converting to a plural possessive noun we must remember that we add an only apostrophe (‘) when the plural noun is ending with s; however, if the plural noun ends with any other word then we add ‘s. Examples of plural nouns ending with s and have only (‘) in their possessive form are wives, apples. Whereas examples of plural nouns that do not end with s will have (‘s) in their possessive form. For e.g. wool, sheep

- Chris is a singular noun therefore singular possessive noun rule will apply and the correct possessive will be Chris’s.
- However, the Associated Press writing follows the rule that if a singular noun ends with ‘s’ then only ‘ will be used.

Therefore, both the forms are correct.

Note: Chris is a proper noun so Chris’/ Chris’s will become a possessive proper noun. Also, as possessives can be both nouns and pronouns, we should remember that we do not use ‘ in the case of possessive pronouns such as his, her etc. because these words show possession without the use of ‘ or ‘s.