When Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee, print reporters everywhere ran to consult their AP Stylebooks. (Well, maybe not their first reaction, but pretty close, I believe!)
What would be the proper representation? “Kamala Harris’s Converse sneakers convey a casual confidence.” Or should it be: “Kamala Harris’ Converse sneakers convey a casual confidence.” Or, yet another option: “Kamala Harrises’ Converse sneakers convey a casual confidence.”
Add Tim Walz as her running mate and grammar geeks just go deeper into “apostrophe hell.”
Ms. Harris’s and Mr. Walz’s … Ms. Harris’ and Mr. Walz’ … The Harrises and the Walzes … the Harrises’ Sunday dinner and the Walzes’ state of Minnesota. Oh, what to do?
The Associate Press Stylebook is clear that for singular proper names ending in S, one should use only an apostrophe. So that would be Harris’ and Walz’ – however that just feels and looks weird and is enough to send us grammar geeks practically into convulsions! Add the fact that the New York Times, The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal all use ’s to indicate a singular possessive and an added apostrophe (Harrises’ and Walzes’) for a plural possessive.
If you consult the dictionary (Merriam-Webster in this example), it splits the difference, either adding ’s or just an apostrophe for the plural/possessive for names that end in an s or z sound: Harris’s or Harris’ … Walz’s or Walz’.
Not to get too far down in the weeds or off topic, I learned two other remarkable facts as I researched this blog. #1: There is an Apostrophe Protection Society. Seriously, it’s in the U.K. and its mission is to “preserve the correct use of this important, though much misused, item of punctuation.” Who knew? #2: August 15 is International Apostrophe Day. Dang, just about a month too late to make this post super timely!
No matter the time of year, the topic, or the proper name, simply write around the offending sentence. Seriously, coming from a self-admitted AP apostle AND from someone whose last name has always ended in an s, just save yourself a big headache and just write “The Converse sneakers worn by Kamala Harris convey a casual confidence.”