If I am addressing a card to multiple family members with the last name Thomas, is the correct spelling Thomas's or Thomas'?
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5Bus:buses :: Thomas:Thomases.– Digital ChrisDec 16, 2014 at 20:46
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Related, possible duplicates: Pluralization of names; Family name pluralization; and Pluralization of proper nouns: regular or irregular?– chosterDec 16, 2014 at 21:02
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1Collectively, Mr Thomas's family would be referred to as The Thomases– FumbleFingersDec 16, 2014 at 21:23
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2 Answers
The identical question was asked on this forum 12 years ago, right down to the name used:
Thomases. An apostrophe denotes ownership or a contraction.
Examples of correct uses:
I'm visiting the Thomases. That is Thomas' chair. That's the Thomases' dog. The construction "Thomas's" is wrong.
"Apostrophes are NEVER ever used to make plurals." (http://www.spotlight-online.de/CoCoCMS/generator/viewDocument.php?doc=4279) "Apostrophes are NOT used for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals." (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_apost.html)
from the MLA handbook, 5th ed.:
To form the possessive of a plural proper noun, add only an apostrophe.
[examples:] the Vanderbilts' estate the Dickenses' economic woes
last linky (http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/plurals.htm)
When a family name (a proper noun) is pluralized, we almost always simply add an "s." So we go to visit the Smiths, the Kennedys, the Grays, etc.When a family name ends in s, x, ch, sh, or z, however, we form the plural by added -es, as in the Marches, the Joneses, the Maddoxes, the Bushes, the Rodriguezes. Do not form a family name plural by using an apostrophe; that device is reserved for creating possessive forms.
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1Apostrophes can be used for plurals of single letters: english.stackexchange.com/questions/25277/… Dec 16, 2014 at 21:52
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1'The possessive "Thomas's" is wrong.' One view. An overview is given at dailywritingtips.com: 'Most stylebooks agree that the rule for forming the possessive of a singular noun ending in -s is formed by adding ’s: the boss’s birthday the bus’s wheels the witness’s testimony When it comes to forming the possessive of a proper name that ends in s, guides disagree.' Dec 16, 2014 at 23:26
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1The construction "Thomas's" is correct if "Thomas" is referring to a single person.– ZenadixSep 3, 2017 at 17:26
You are writing to the Thomas family (or family Thomas, to be a little jazzy) or to the individual or multiple Thomases who comprise the family. Most surnames form the plural using the same rules as for other nouns.
