[Grammar] Use of genitive

[Lavoisier]

Hi

when there is a word like nurse, in which the last pronounced letter is an s, but the last spelled letter is an e, to indicate possession in the singular form do you say "a nurse's cat" or "a nurse' cat"?

Thank you very much

 

[Rover_KE]

Welcome to the forum, Lavoisier.

a nurse's cat

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi.

[STRIKE]when there is[/STRIKE] With a word like "nurse", in which the last [STRIKE]pronounced[/STRIKE] spoken letter is an "s", but the last [STRIKE]spelled[/STRIKE] written letter is an "e", to indicate possession in the singular form do you say "a nurse's cat" or "a nurse' cat"?

Thank you very much.

Welcome to the forum. :hi:

Note my changes above. Also note that there is no need to thank us in advance. After we help you, thank us by clicking on the "Thank" button in the bottom left-hand corner of any useful post.

 

[GoesStation]

The same thing applies if there isn't a silent e at the end: a bus's doors, for example. You may find references advising that the s​ after the apostrophe isn't necessary, but I always include it in speech and in writing.