Q. A friend and I were looking at a poster that read “guys apartment.” I believe it should read “guys’ apartment.” She claims that it should read “guys’s apartment” and that the CMS specifically gives the example of “guys’s” to make “guys” possessive. I looked through every section on possessives and did not find the word “guys’s” or any rule that would make this correct. Some people say “you guys’s apartment”—did I overlook the word “guys’s” as used in the attributive position? (I don’t think I did.)
A. “Guys’s” is acceptable in the way that “youse guys” is acceptable; that is, neither is yet recognized as standard prose, and if your friend can find it in CMS, I’ll eat my hat. Plural nouns that end in s (like “guys”) don’t add another s to form the possessive, e.g., the students’ lounge. “Guys’ apartment” is the standard spelling. If you want to make “guys” attributive, you can get away without the apostrophe, but you might test the idea with a plural noun that doesn’t end in s to see whether the attributive actually works: I doubt you’d write “the women apartment,” so you shouldn’t write “the guys apartment” either. And shame on your friend. It must make you wonder what else she’s capable of.
Q. What is the proper comma usage in describing a series of nouns with a single adjective? For example, “This spring’s collection emphasizes sexy lingerie, blouses, skirts, and mukluks.” I am devoted to the serial comma, but should a comma be included after the third item if I want the adjective to apply to all four items? I write for an online retailer and often find myself stumped by this little conundrum.
A. If the adjective applies to all four nouns, a serial comma is harmless. The problem arises if the adjective is meant to apply only to some of the nouns. In that case, the comma is the least of your worries. To avoid ambiguity, you should put only the modified nouns after the adjective: “This spring’s collection emphasizes mukluks and sexy blouses, skirts, and lingerie.”
Q. Your copy editing leaves something to be desired. In section 8.64, the correct spelling is Baudelaire, not Beaudelaire.
Also, you might want to add a place on the website to suggest corrigenda.
A. Thank you for taking the time to write. We depend on the kindness of our readers—and reader kindness overflowed when this typo made it into print. The error will be corrected in the next printing of the manual. You will find a place to send comments just above the place where you submit questions. Perhaps in future revisions of the Web page we can add a place for corrigenda and—what the heck—while we’re at it, one for chastisement.
3 comments:
what's the point of having a blog when all you do is post things other people write. be original for once!
yeah, like "anonymous" is original. most of what i post is my own stuff. but i like to give credit to others, and share great things when i find them. how many times have you read the chicago manual of style? really. live a little.
oh, and if you DO like something that i've personally written for your pleasure, tell me. let me know. it helps.
Post a Comment