Grammar Help! Miles' vs Miles's??

erink7211

Help! I'm getting really attached to the name Miles but when I was going through different ways of saying his name I got hung up with the possessive form. Which is correct? Would you pronounce the extra "es" at the end?? 

"It's in Miles' room" 

"It's in Miles's room"

I hate to admit that something so small is making me question the name. Am I overthinking it?? FWIW- I'm more concerned with how it's pronounced rather than how it's written. 

queenbone

Both are correct. One of my sons' names ends in s. Admittedly, it was a little weird at first using the possessive of his name, but it really is nbd. I use the s' rather than s's.  It just looks more simple and neat to me.

mb0112

It should be said and spelled Miles' but I'm sure people, especially kids, will often say "Miles's" which isn't a big deal to me. 

Happens all all the time with last names like Williams or Reeves 

NME44

Miles'

harpseal135

The correct way is Miles'

Any name that ends with a "s" should always be -s' -s's is not correct although I hear kids make is -s's without knowing, but as an adult I would be using s'

Alexis'
Miles'
Charles'
Agustus'

JennyColada

Grammatically, I've heard that both s' and s's are correct. I find s's just a bit more difficult to pronounce and sounds very slur-y, so I tend to not use that one. But technically it is fine to do so.

leighry

+1 for Miles'

ellie111227

Grammar nerd answer: it depends on which style guide you follow. There isn't agreement on which is correct between the standard styles. The Associated Press says it should be Miles', and Fowler's Modern English says it should be Miles's. So you can do whichever feels right to you, but other people aren't wrong if they do it the other way. 

I mean, I guess technically you should pick a style and use it consistently. For example, if you go with the AP and don't add the extra "s" in something you are writing, you should also go with the AP not use Oxford commas in it. That's pretty picky though, and no one would ever notice unless it was in a book manuscript at an editor or something.

JennyColada

@ellie111227 Oxford commas make me swoon, blush, and feel weak at the knees.

Hdhtk4

I was taught you add just an apostrophe on a plural word that ends in s. Miles as a name is not plural, so I would write it Miles's. However, I also use the Oxford comma, so apparently that's just my style of writing as @ellie111227 mentioned.

holli0801

Miles' 

christyjane17

I have a Miles. It's never akward when speaking "where are miles' shoes?" I say..."Miles shoes" When my 4 and 5 year old say it, they say "where are mileses (sounds like) shoes?" It's never akward sounding either way. In fact, I've never thought about it. I hope this makes sense and helps!  I love the name Miles!

erink7211

Thank you! I think I just had a moment of hormonal panic and wanted to make sure I wasn't dooming us to a lifetime of grammar questions. I'm still loving the name so hopefully I can get DH to agree!

MrsCFB

Hdhtk4 said:

I was taught you add just an apostrophe on a plural word that ends in s. Miles as a name is not plural, so I would write it Miles's. However, I also use the Oxford comma, so apparently that's just my style of writing as @ellie111227 mentioned.

I agree, Miles's and I love the Oxford comma!

mercury94

I would use Miles's. I'm not a fan of the AP style guide, which seems aimed at conserving space in newspaper/magazine columns. All of the other style guides I've used say that you add 's to singular nouns ending in s and ' to plural nouns ending in s. But, I'm also a huge stickler on the need for the Oxford comma, so I might be pickier than most. 

neverblushed

English teacher here!  Miles is an awesome name, and you should not let this minor issue deter you from using it!

As others have said, both are acceptable.  When forming a possessive of a proper noun that ends in the letter "s" or the s or z sound, you generally go with the one that is the easiest to say.

Take the name Charles, for example. You can either use Charles' (pron Char-ulz) or Charles's (pron Char-ulz-ez).  Examples would be: Charles' hat or Charles's hat.  With this name, I'd use Charles' because the s at the end of the name sounds like a z and the 's also sounds like a z.  "Char-ulz-ez" is weirdly repetitive.  In spoken English, the context of the sentence makes it clear that you're using the possessive form of Charles' even if the person hearing you can't hear the extra apostrophe-s at the end.

With a name like Rhys, you can also use either Rhys' hat or Rhys's hat.  In this case, the name ends with the sibilant/soft sound, so it is clearer and easier to use Rhys's and pronounce it like the candy.

Miles has a "z" sound at the end, so I'd use Miles' hat and pronounce it "Mylz hat."