Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 09:50:15 -0500

From: debaron[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UIUC.EDU

Subject: Re: genitive in names of businesses



In central Illinois, when business have singular name there is a

tendency to render the name in the genitive. Hence:

Eagle Supermarket ------- Eagle's

John Deere & Co. ------- Deere's



Maybe in your part of central Illinois, but not in mine. Sure Kroger

Kroger's, but

Jewel, Eagle, and IGA are uninflected. (Perhaps this is an uninflected

genitive).

Schnucks and other business names ending in s are of course ambiguous,

though I

don't think you hear Schnuckses or Prairie Gardenses. Carson Pirie Scott

is Carson's.

Yen Ching is Yen Ching.



Dennis (that's uninflected, right?)



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Dennis Baron debaron[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]uiuc.edu



Department of English 217-333-2392

University of Illinois fax: 217-333-4321

608 South Wright Street

Urbana, Illinois 61801