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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > Phonetics of the possessive ´s : BOSS ´    

Phonetics of the possessive ´s : BOSS ´



caritush
Argentina

Phonetics of the possessive ´s : BOSS ´
 

I ´m teaching possessive ´s right now, and according to the grammar rules, when a word ends in s, we add the apostrophe to its right and don ´t add an extra s, "kids ´" and we pronounce it as if it didn ´t have the possessive.

The thing is, I realize that when I say the boss ´ wife, I add a shwa sound, I say the "bosiz" wife...
How come?? Is there a rule about that? I ´ve tried looking it up but I found nothing

17 Jul 2009      





anitarobi
Croatia

This is the website(http://www.englishpage.com/) I often use to help me with such problems (though in your case, the pronunciation thing is simply there to help you pronounce, same as with plurals ´watches ´ or verbs ´washes ´), but this might help also... http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/possessives.htm
 
Anita 

17 Jul 2009     



Jayho
Australia

Yes there is a pronunciation rule for possessives - you can read about it at this link:
 
 
Cheers
 
Jayho

18 Jul 2009     



PhilipR
Thailand

When a plural noun ends in ´s ´ there is no need to add an extra s, just an apostrophe.

When a singular noun end in ´s ´, add an apostrophe plus an extra s (e.g. Luis ´s class, St James ´s Park), with unfortunately just a few EXCEPTIONS (e.g. Jesus ´ apostles plus phonetical exceptions).

This last rule, however, has been violated by so many over the last years (Luis ´ class, James ´ wife), that both forms are now gradually being accepted. I guess language and grammar are really alive.

18 Jul 2009     



caritush
Argentina

OK thanks guys. One one link it was mentioned more or less..... that basically there ´s not that much of a rule about that :/
 
I know the grammar, I studied it all my life and then agian in the teacher training course... but at the same time I spent some time living in the states when i was a teen and acquired (as in, an uncoscious process) many aspects vocab and prnunciation based on the usage rather than the rules, and sometime she two types of knowledge collide and there isn ´t a good answer to slve the problem...
 
That ´s the thing with English I guess, the use many times molds the grammar instead of the other way around
 
 
Anyways, thanks guys!

18 Jul 2009