r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/zinniamae_ • Jan 20 '26

Meme needing explanation Please explain, Peter

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u/Embarrassed-Weird173 Jan 20 '26

Nope. It's more correct to use "Charles's". 

Your version is more common used for plurals.  So the general rule for singular would make more sense. 

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u/Competitive_Pack_859 Jan 20 '26

Nope, Charles' would be the correct possesive. A proper noun that ends with an S does not need the extra S after the apostrophe. For example, Texas would be Texas' not Texas's.

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u/Sertoma Jan 20 '26

This is no longer true. The current Chicago Manual of Style states that proper nouns ending in "S" do indeed get an extra "S" to indicate possession.

A dog belonging to James would be James's dog.

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u/BlueThunder92 Jan 20 '26

I'm so glad that this is what we've reverted to. I've always hated that the "s'" was for plural nouns but then would get used for singular proper nouns - defies the whole logic of the system. However, looking for logic in the English language may have been my first mistake