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10 replies

TheBucktoothedGirlFromLuxembourg · 30/03/2024 20:03

If you were writing a card or label from a family with a surname that end in "s" would you write

Happy birthday from The Thomases

Happy birthday from The Thomas's

My choice was option 1 but I have been told I should have used option 2.

OP posts:

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FoofOfTheWalkingDead · 30/03/2024 20:05

Thomas's means possession. Thomases means more than one. You are correct.

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RitaIncognita · 30/03/2024 20:06

You are correct, OP.

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RitaIncognita · 30/03/2024 20:07

You can also say "From the Thomas family."

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bossybloss · 30/03/2024 20:08

Or the Thomas’

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TimeandMotion · 30/03/2024 20:09

bossybloss · 30/03/2024 20:08

Or the Thomas’

No, that’s incorrect. There is no possessive here.

You were correct OP.

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bossybloss · 30/03/2024 20:11

https://academic.oup.com/bja/article/90/5/708/270106#

My previous post was wrong 😑

Keeping up with the Jones’ or Joneses?

Editor—As a Welshman, I feel I must question the grammatical correctness of the title of your recent Editorial:1 Electronic manuscript submission to the BJ

https://academic.oup.com/bja/article/90/5/708/270106#

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bossybloss · 30/03/2024 20:12

TimeandMotion · 30/03/2024 20:09

No, that’s incorrect. There is no possessive here.

You were correct OP.

Edited

Show quote history

Yes you are right 😄

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VolvoFan · 30/03/2024 20:17

Nope, it's 'es'. More than one Thomas. An apostrophe makes it possessive. You were correct.

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TheBucktoothedGirlFromLuxembourg · 30/03/2024 20:19

Thank you everyone. I disagreed with the person who tried to correct me and said that "apostrophe s" indicates possession so it is nice to know that I was right.

OP posts:

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moonshinepoursthroughmywindow · 22/06/2024 18:08

I would say "from the Thomases" if I had to use the surname, but I'd be more likely, depending on how well I knew the recipient, to say either "from Rita, Fred, Jimmy and Eddy" or "from all at number 83." I can't think of a situation, other than neighbours who put the number themselves, where I would know someone well enough to want to give them a card but not well enough to want them to know our first names.

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