Community Chat

[Sunshine Kate]

 Not sure what category to post this question.  

Which sentence is correct?  The key word is:  James

1)  There are too many James' in my class.

2)  There are too many James's in my class.

3)  There are too many Jameses in my class.

TIA

[gmkb]

What about "there are 5, 6, 7, etc. boys named James in my class."  It has a nicer tone than "too many."

[Karlakaye]

I believe it is number three, simpy a plural of James, not possessive (as in belonging to one James or more than one James).  HTH

KK

[Zita]

#3 is correct; simple plural of James

[birkin baby]

There are too many boys named James in my class.

[eyeron]

I just googled this:  

Mrs. Mullins is my teacher. She is helping us learn about possessive and plural nouns. Mrs. Mullins's husband has a mother named Mrs. Mullins, too. There is a total of three Mrs. Mullinses in my teacher's family. They like to plan family parties and celebrations. The Mullinses' parties are joyous events!

See example:

There is a total of three Mrs. Mullinses in my teacher's family.

[sallybusky]

I agree with every poster up until now, so...s for all. However, adding es to James (or Mullins) just looks awkward. My recommendation is with the suggestion to modify the rest of the sentences so you can avoid making that choice: There are six students named James in my class.

[Desertdi]

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@eyeron wrote:

I just googled this:  

Mrs. Mullins is my teacher. She is helping us learn about possessive and plural nouns. Mrs. Mullins's husband has a mother named Mrs. Mullins, too. There is a total of three Mrs. Mullinses in my teacher's family. They like to plan family parties and celebrations. The Mullinses' parties are joyous events!

See example:

There is a total of three Mrs. Mullinses in my teacher's family.

 There is a total of three Mrs. Mullins' in my teacher's family

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[IamMrsG]

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desertDi wrote:  There is a total of three Mrs. Mullins' in my teacher's family

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An apostrophe is used to denote either possession or contraction, but never to make anything plural.

Edited to add:  The misuse of an apostrophe to signify plurality is referenced as the "grocer's apostrophe," e.g., Apple's 2/$1

[JeanLouiseFinch]

I'm not an English teacher, but I believe Option #3 is correct.  Making  a plural from a singular word that ends in "s" requires the addition of an "es" on the end, even when it's a proper name or last name.  My married name ends in "s" and it's just a thing with me, that it rubs me the wrong way when I see an apostrophe intended to show us as a group.