Sunday, February 12, 2017

grammatical number - Forming the possessive of a username that is a contraction



Suppose there was a user of one of these sites whose handle was Won't. How would one form the possessive of this username to refer to that user's post?*




Won't's answer





Given that the 's possessive construction is apparently derived from a contraction, and the existence of a fair number of double contractions, I suspect this first one might be correct, but frankly, it looks weird to me.




Won'ts answer




One apostrophe in its usual place looks a little better to me, but it also looks like it might be a pluralization,** even though that doesn't make sense in context. This choice might read confusingly.




Wont's answer





This seems to be a non-starter, since it changes the name for the sake of forming the possessive.



Is the first one right, or is there a possibility I've missed?*






*Aside from using "the post by Won't" or similar rewriting.
**Especially given "Do's" and "don'ts" or "do's" and "don't's"?


Answer




Your first formation (Won't's) is correct. It looks weird, perhaps, because it's an unusual situation, but there you have it. If somebody uses a contracted word as his/her username or handle, forming the possessive is going to look strange. Just gotta live with it!


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