James'/James's arms broke when he fell heavily.

[Tan Elaine]

James'/James's arms broke when he fell heavily.

Which bold word should I use?

Thanks.

 

[Barb_D]

You'll see both. I use only James's.
However, the sentence would be more natural as "James broke both his arms when he fell." or "When James fell so heavily, he broke both [his] arms."

 

[emsr2d2]

We use a slightly strange construction when we talk about fractured limbs. We make it sound as if it is the person's fault!

He broke his leg.
She broke her arm.
He's broken five ribs.

Obviously, the person did not injure those parts of their anatomy themselves (unless they are suffering from Munchausen's Syndrome), but that is how we generally say it.

Context will tell you if it means "We are talking about Gary and Gary now has a broken leg" or "We are talking about Gary who attacked Nigel and now Nigel has a broken leg, courtesy of Gary".

Gary attacked Nigel and broke his leg. Nigel is now in hospital.
Gary attacked Nigel and, in the process, broke his leg. Gary is now in hospital.

 

[Rover_KE]

Like Barb, I too always write James's.

See also the Similar Threads below.

 

[Tdol]

As an example of how you may see both, the park in London is called St James's Park, but Newcastle United's stadium is St James' Park.

http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/st-jamess-park
http://www.nufc.co.uk/page/Club/StJamesPark/Home