John and Jessica love sending out holiday cards. It doesn't matter that it's still September – they are ready to get into the holiday spirit! But without fail, not a year goes by where they aren't upsetting the grammar police with an unnecessary apostrophe in their last name.
I'm sure you've seen this faux pas before ...
Have a spooky Halloween! Love, the Gamel's. (come on now)
Happy Thanksgiving from the Gordon's. (give me a break)
Merry Christmas from the Bonner's. (ugh)
Pluralizing your last name doesn't require an apostrophe, folks! Simply add the 's.'
Have a spooky Halloween! Love, the Gamels. (LOVE IT)
Happy Thanksgiving from the Gordons. (there ya go)
Merry Christmas from the Bonners. (facts)
Resist the apostrophe because the next thing you know, a well-intentioned holiday card is ruined. It's a mess, and you really hate to see it.
Pluralizing last names doesn't have to be hard.
You only add an apostrophe to your last name if you are making it possessive. In the case of holiday cards, you aren't doing this.
You're actually making it plural, meaning all you have to do is add an 's.'
With that said, there are variations to pluralizing last names depending on how your last name is spelled. Here is an awesome chart from fellow writer and blogger Kate Brannen that perfectly spells out how to make your last name plural on a holiday card.
Below are a few more examples to help you pluralize your last name:
* The Mathneys
* The Meltons
* The Bonners
* The Aults
* The Joneses
* The Burches
* The Gonzalezes
* The Maddoxes
* The Ashes
The cool part is that if you're still confused, simply write around it ...
"Happy Holidays from The Gamel Family."
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It's fun to tease friends on Facebook for grammar mistakes or point out errors in other written copy. But any spelling or grammar error in business writing – brochures, website copy, blog posts, press releases, newsletters, etc. – wreaks havoc on your company's image.
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STEVE GAMEL is the President & Owner of Edit This®, a writing and editing services company in Denton, TX. He is also the author of Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion For The Written Word. Steve handles anything involving the written word. Give him a call today to help give your business a clear voice.