Date: Sat, 23 Sep 1995 00:06:35 -0400

From: Virginia Clark vpclark[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MOOSE.UVM.EDU

Subject: Re: Plural Proper Nouns



But there are usually (often?) exceptions, which we tend to forget.



At 03:11 PM 9/21/95 MST, you wrote:

Fritz Juengling writes:



When I was in grade school, we learned the rule,

"drop the y , add ies . For years, when I was studying

German, there were two "Germanies." Then about 5 years ago,

when the Germanies were reuniting, I saw nothing in the papers

except 'Germanys.' This violated everything I had ever

learned, both in English and German classes.



Did that ies rule apply to proper nouns?

In a room full of people named either Wendy or Terry, do we have . . .

six Wendies and seven Terries

or, six Wendy's and seven Terry's

or, six Wendys and seven Terrys?





Tom Uharriet

utom[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]admn.712.nebo.edu





Most handbooks used in first year English classes (e.g., the

_Harbrace College Handbook_) tuck away somewhere the information that the

plural of proper names (I think they mean nouns) ending in _y_ are formed by

adding just _s_. The old edition (the tenth) that I have gives as examples

"the Dudleys and the Berrys." Students don't notice this, and I keep

forgetting it.



Virginia Clark

University of Vermont

vpclark[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]moose.uvm.edu