question

From the AP Stylebook:

SINGULAR PROPER NAMES ENDING IN S: Use only an apostrophe: Achilles’ heel, Agnes’ book, Ceres’ rites, Descartes’ theories, Dickens’ novels, Euripides’ dramas, Hercules’ labors, Jesus’ life, Jules’ seat, Kansas’ schools, Moses’ law, Socrates’ life, Tennessee Williams’ plays, Xerxes’ armies.

 

Robertz's'.

 

Make it easy: Roberts scored a touchdown.

 

All of which you say there is correct.

I vote for a write-around.

 

NYT is ass-backwards on this one.

It's Roberts' touchdown in most places. Makes sense, less confusing.

If the guy's name ends with a Z, though, you get the 's.

Robertz's touchdown. Didn't used to be, but for some reason it is now.

At least that's how it's been explained to me.

Does that help? Maybe not. Always easier to write around it.

 

It's Roberts'. If you go by NYTimes, you'd probably have to also put "Mr. Roberts's ..."

 

Roberts' touchdown.

 

Roberts' looks better and takes up less space than Roberts's, which is the main reason for most of the AP style rules.

 

The NY Times uses the courtesy titles in sports stories?
So when quoting Michael Vick, they would say, "Mr. Vick denied the allegations that he did in fact have marijuana on his person in the Miami airport"?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/sports/baseball/16colorado.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
quotes the Rockies players without Mr. I don't think they use em for sports.

 

Just curious, what did you end up using?

 

From today's NYT:

The professors say they lost their jobs because of their objections to Dr. Roberts’s effort to enlist students in a Republican mayoral campaign that was later scrutinized by the Internal Revenue Service, and over their efforts to bring to light a damaging internal report on improper spending and personal indiscretions by the Robertses.

 

I write it as Roberts'. Either way is probably correct, but there's something to be said for simplicity and readability.