The Smiths is plural for "Smith" and means there is more than one person named Smith and the invitation is from them all. When in doubt, we like to use "The Smith Family". The Smith's (with an apostrophe before the s) is the possessive of "Smith" and indicates one person ownership.
Unlike singular possessives, which take an apostrophe followed by an S, plural possessives take an apostrophe alone. So if you're going to the home of the Smiths, you're going to the Smiths' house. If you're going to visit the Williamses, that would be at the Williamses' house.
Although it may seem complicated at first, the rules of pluralizing last names are actually pretty simple, as Slate pointed out. Unless you want to make your last name possessive, there aren't any circumstances where you would need to add an apostrophe.
When making your last name plural, you don't need to add an apostrophe! The apostrophe makes the name possessive. The last letter of your last name will determine if you add an “-s” or an “-es”. If your last name ends in -s, -z, -ch, -sh, or -x, you add -es to your last name to make it plural.
The plural of Smith is Smiths. NOT Smith's. And if for some reason the Smiths wanted to use the possessive, they would have to use the plural possessive.
Only use an apostrophe when you want to make a name possessive. ("From The Smith's" is always wrong, but "The party is at the Smiths' house" is correct.) This gets tricky if the last name ends in the letter "s." To make a last name that ends in "s" plural, add "es" (so Reeves becomes Reeveses).
All you need is an “s” at the end of the name (Smiths, Johnsons). If you have trouble remembering whether the apostrophe is necessary, think of your message. For instance, if you mean to say, “The Smiths live here,” then you don't need the apostrophe on the sign or that sentence.
You usually make family names plural by adding an “s” to the end. However, if the name ends in "s," “x,” "z," “ch,” or “sh,” you usually add an “es” instead (but there are exceptions). The plural of “mother-in-law” is “mothers-in-law.”
For showing family possession with surnames that are plural and possessive, make the name plural first by adding an “s” and then add an apostrophe to make them possessive. The Smiths' car was parked illegally. (The car belonged to Mr. and Mrs.
According to English style guides, singular possessives are formed with –'s and plurals with just an apostrophe, so the possessive of the singular Jones is Jones's and of the plural Joneses is Joneses'.
To form the possessive, add apostrophe + s to the noun. If the noun is plural, or already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s. For names ending in s, you can either add an apostrophe + s, or just an apostrophe.
Do you say James' or James's? Both James' and James's are grammatically correct. Certain academic writing styles prefer one version over the other, but it doesn't matter which one you use in your regular, written English.
The Associated Press Stylebook recommends just an apostrophe: It's Tennessee Williams' best play. But most other authorities endorse 's: Williams's. Williams's means “belonging to Williams.” It is not the plural form of Williams. People's names become plural the way most other words do.
Family Names:
When a family name (a proper noun) is pluralized, we almost always add an "s." The only exception here is if your last name ends with the letter(s) s,x,z,ch,sh—here, you should then add an “es” to the end to pluralize. A few examples: Merry Christmas! The Smiths—correct!
The plural of 'family' is 'families'. For example: ''There are two new families living in my neighborhood. '' Just be careful because it can sound like the possessive form (family's) which is used to talk about something that belongs to your family - e.g. ''my family's car broke down''.
The apostrophe has three uses: 1) to form possessive nouns; 2) to show the omission of letters; and 3) to indicate plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols. Do not use apostrophes to form possessive pronouns (i.e. his/her computer) or noun plurals that are not possessives.
When speaking about members of the same family collectively, the article the is used before the surname. In this way, you designate a group of people –a family – with one word. Remember, the surname must be in the plural form.
Form the possessive case of a singular noun by adding 's (even if the word ends in s). Form the possessive case of a plural noun by adding an apostrophe after the final letter if it is an s or by adding 's if the final letter is not an s. Remember: the apostrophe never designates the plural form of a noun.
To indicate possessive, you need an apostrophe. To indicate plural possessive, you need to place the apostrophe after the s. Correct punctuation would be: I had dinner at the Smiths'.
The Associated Press Stylebook says the correct way to write the possessive case of Chris is Chris', not Chris's. Other style guides, including the Chicago Manual of Style, say Chris's is correct. If there isn't a specific guidebook you need to follow, you can use either Chris' or Chris's.
Is it James family or James's family? Remember that you need an apostrophe to show possession. James's family or James' family are correct depending on the style guide that you follow. If you are talking about more than one James(plural of James), you can use “Jameses”.
Remember: it's up to you! Use the version which best matches how you would pronounce it. Use James's if you pronounce it "Jamesiz", but use James' if you pronounce it "James".
Names are proper nouns, which become plurals the same way that other nouns do: add the letter -s for most names (“the Johnsons,” “the Websters”) or add -es if the name ends in s or z (“the Joneses,” “the Martinezes”).