Gadaffi vs Gaddafi's

[ostap77]

Sorry for misspelling the name. It should have been "Gaddafi vs Gaddafi's".


"Throughout the night, euphoric Libyan rebels moved into the centre of Tripoli as Gaddafi's defenders melted away and thousands of jubilant civilians rushed out of their homes to cheer the long convoys of pickup trucks packed with fighters shooting in the air."

AND

"An opposition fighter in Tripoli told Al Jazeera only about 20 per cent of the city is in the hands of Gaddafi supporters."

Is it Gaddafi or Gaddafi's?

[konungursvia]

For Arabic and Russian names, there is no one correct Romanization, and you'll see variants. Each newspaper requires one variant, but different newspapers make different choices.

[5jj]

I prefer 's in the first (but that's a personal opinion), but think that either is fine in the second.

[ostap77]

I prefer 's in the first (but that's a personal opinion), but think that either is fine in the second.

I've been watching coverages that keep coming through from Libya and it got me wondering as to when we use 's with names and when we don't use it?

[TheParser]

Sorry for misspelling the name. It should have been "Gaddafi vs Gaddafi's".


"Throughout the night, euphoric Libyan rebels moved into the centre of Tripoli as Gaddafi's defenders melted away and thousands of jubilant civilians rushed out of their homes to cheer the long convoys of pickup trucks packed with fighters shooting in the air."

AND

"An opposition fighter in Tripoli told Al Jazeera only about 20 per cent of the city is in the hands of Gaddafi supporters."

Is it Gaddafi or Gaddafi's?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


(1) As usual, you have asked a great question.

(2) The two teachers have given us excellent answers.

(3) I feel that there is a difference between Colonel Gaddafi's supporters
and Colonel Gaddafi supporters. Sadly, I cannot put my finger on it.

(4) All I can do is to mention a discussion that I read about "a fan of Bill" vs.

"a fan of Bill's." Some people feel that "a fan of Bill's" indicates a more

intimate, closer relationship than simply "a fan of Bill [Clinton]." Maybe a fan of

Bill's is personally acquainted with the former president, while a fan of Bill might be

someone who likes Mr. Clinton's ideas but has never met him or contributed money

to his activities. (Maybe a fan of Bill's would be expected to put his/her money where

his/her mouth is.)

(5) Maybe (probably) it is only my imagination, but "Gaddafi's supporters" in the

first quotation is appropriate because those were people who were physically

fighting (and dying) to maintain him in power. That is a rather personal relationship,

in my opinion. *** In the second quotation, Gaddafi supporters might simply refer to

anyone who likes him -- including women and children.