McDonald's - Chili's ?

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white.rose

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Hi,

I don't understand why there is an apostrophe in such words: McDonald's, Chili's ... I know that apostrophe shows possession. So, where is the possession?

Thank you in advance,
 
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emsr2d2

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Presumably the person who started the burger company was called Mr McDonald. Therefore it is "Mr McDonald's Burger Company". I am not suggesting that it used to be called that but "McDonald" is a surname, "McDonalds" isn't.

I don't know of a shop/restaurant called "Chili's" - perhaps we don't have it in the UK.
 

TheParser

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


Here is one explanation. I do not know how accurate it is. The source DOES seem to be authoritative.

"In reality there is no apostrophe in the Chili's name. Instead the apostrophe is a substitute for the word pepper."

So the source tells us that Chili's actually means CHILI-pepper-S.

Source: go to Google and type in: [PDF] Chili's -- Super Brands
 

Skrej

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McDonald's, Chili's, etc. are franchise corporations, so the restaurant name belong to the company, even though the actual franchises are owned by individuals.

So when we say 'McDonald's', it is a short form of 'McDonald's restaurant', thus the possessive, belonging to the corporation.

Just as tidbits of extra info - McDonald's was actually started by a man named Ray Kroc. I don't remember where the 'McDonald' part comes in, but I'm sure you can find out on the internet.

Chili's is an American restaurant bar and grill chain that serves pseudo Tex-Mex cuisine. However, their menu is very loosely based on Tex-Mex cuisine, I wouldn't consider them Tex-Mex. It's not bad food by any means, just not terribly authentic.

Parser is correct that the 'Chili' in 'Chili's' represents a chili pepper, which is commonly associated with Mexican food. However, the rest his theory, I'm afraid is incorrect.
 

white.rose

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So, 's in "chili" doesn't represent possession? Substitution is another use of apostrophe, isn't it?
 

MikeNewYork

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The apostrophe in Chili's is a possessive for Chili's restaurant.
 

SoothingDave

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