MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Today, August 15, is International Apostrophe Day, and this could not have come at a more perfect time, particularly when it comes to writing the possessive name of the Democratic candidates for president and vice president.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Now, since we're on the radio, spelling doesn't much matter, but I'm curious. Is it Harris apostrophe S or just Harris apostrophe? And don't get me started on Walz's's's's (ph). The team here at ALL THINGS CONSIDERED recently asked our copy editing experts what to do about these possessive apostrophes on a name that ends in Z or S.
KELLY: Well, turns out, a proper noun that ends in S will only get an apostrophe at the end, not an extra S and an apostrophe. So in the sentence, we saw Harris' books, NPR writes H-A-R-R-I-S apostrophe.
SHAPIRO: Walz's - just add an apostrophe S after the Z.
KELLY: And to be a bit bipartisan about it all, seven-term Republican Congressman Rudy Boschwitz's name, ending with a Z, that ends in an apostrophe S.
SHAPIRO: Now, not every outlet agrees on this. The Washington Post does it differently. They have their own rules.
KELLY: But at NPR, this is how we do it. Happy Apostrophe Day.
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