On your mark!

This workout centers on paragraphs 7.16–29 in CMOS 18. Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study that section of the Manual before answering the questions.

Remember: The workouts are all about Chicago! If you’re an expert in MLA, AP, or New York Times style, you might be surprised to find that your instincts don’t quite match Chicago’s. That doesn’t mean your answer is necessarily “wrong”—it just means it isn’t Chicago style.

(Subscribers to The Chicago Manual of Style Online may click through to the linked sections of the Manual. We also offer a 30-day free trial of CMOS Online.)

Note: These questions are designed to test your knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style. Other style guides may have different rules and guidelines.

Now updated to refer and link to the 18th edition.

Chicago Style Workout 10: Possessives

1. Chicago style normally adds an apostrophe and an s to form the possessive of singular nouns (the horse’s mouth) (Sandy Jones’s theories) (FDR’s legacy) (Descartes’s philosophy) (2016’s top events).

True

False

2. The possessive of regular plural nouns is formed by adding an apostrophe only (the candidates’ platforms) (the puppies’ paws).

True

False

3. Some style guides recommend forming the possessive of all words ending in s (whether singular or plural) with an apostrophe only (Descartes’ philosophy) (Etta James’ singing) (that business’ tax returns). Chicago does not recommend this style.

True

False

4. Inanimate objects cannot logically possess anything and therefore should not take the possessive form (the edges of the table, not the table’s edges) (the points of the argument, not the argument’s points).

True

False

5. When the singular form of a noun ending in s is the same as the plural, the possessive is formed in the usual way, with an apostrophe and an s (politics’s true meaning) (economics’s forerunners) (the United States’s role) (Highland Hills’s new mayor).

True

False

6. When two nouns share in the possession of an item or items, only the second element takes the possessive form (my aunt and uncle’s house) (Lerner and Loewe’s songs).

True

False

7. When two nouns individually possess named items, both elements take the possessive form (Lerner’s and Loewe’s royalty checks) (Jacques’s and Mimi’s cell phones) (Jorge’s and Hattie’s opinions).

True

False

8. In plural compound nouns, every noun in the phrase must show possession (my two sons’-in-law’s invitations).

True

False

9. The possessive form may be preceded by of where one of several is implied (a friend of Omar’s) (a friend of his).

True

False

10. When an italicized term appears in roman text, the possessive s should be set in roman (The Atlantic’s editor in chief) (The Great Gatsby’s admirers).

True

False

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Photo: Jesse Owens, courtesy of Pixabay.

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