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Pedants' corner
Original poster

There are three Katys in the class

93 replies

DandelionDahlia · 02/01/2025 16:13

Would anyone be able to tell me if this is grammatically correct?

Or should it be "three Katies"?

They all spell their name Katy.

OP posts:
JessicafelloffTheKnappett · 02/01/2025 17:02

BobbyBiscuits · 02/01/2025 16:43

I do think that the plural of Katy must be Katies. Just because in English most words with a Y ending change to 'ies' in plural. Stories, cavities, ladies etc.

Noooooooo Bobbie!

And no apostrophes either please 🙏 😬

Beekeepingmum · 02/01/2025 17:04

What if Katy actually is one of those special nouns like sheep or platypus, so it would just be three Katy. Or maybe they self define so collectively it could be one Katy (Singular Katy) and two Katy (Pural Katy).

soupfiend · 02/01/2025 17:07

I love to say sheeps

Look at all those sheeps

sanityisamyth · 02/01/2025 17:08

DreadPirateRobots · 02/01/2025 16:14

If all three spell their name Katy, it should be Katys. The spelling of their name will not change because there are several or them; you don't need to try to apply a y/ies pluralisation rule.

This.

sanityisamyth · 02/01/2025 17:09

naemates · 02/01/2025 16:17

If in doubt, add an apostrophe

Wink

You'll get banned from PC saying things like that 🤫🤣

sanityisamyth · 02/01/2025 17:10

JetskiSkyJumper · 02/01/2025 16:55

I'd write Katys' it's probably wrong though!

What do all three possess?

godmum56 · 02/01/2025 17:11

BobbyBiscuits · 02/01/2025 16:43

I do think that the plural of Katy must be Katies. Just because in English most words with a Y ending change to 'ies' in plural. Stories, cavities, ladies etc.

nouns might, Names don't

PokerFriedDips · 02/01/2025 17:15

There are 20 stone Jesuses in the average cathedral.

BellissimoGecko · 02/01/2025 17:21

Snowmanscarf · 02/01/2025 16:59

What about James?

1x James
2x James’s , but the apostrophe normally denotes a missing letter?

There are two Jameses.

HellofromJohnCraven · 02/01/2025 17:21

Please no apostrophe.

slightlydistrac · 02/01/2025 17:32

naemates · 02/01/2025 16:17

If in doubt, add an apostrophe

Wink

Aargghhh!!

Original poster
DandelionDahlia · 02/01/2025 17:38

@mentalblank Very much enjoyed your link, particularly the examples of "Mr and Mrs Fairchild are not the Fairchildren" and "you wouldn't have to say 2 Hail Maries".

OP posts:
NeighbourHitMyCar · 02/01/2025 17:39

As someone who spells their name 'Katie' and who had a best friend growing up call 'Katy' this proved difficult when we were grouped together 😂

But people are protective of their names and spelling of so 'Katys' would be correct in this instance!

Notellinganyone · 02/01/2025 17:40

myhundredk · 02/01/2025 16:17

In the class there are three girls named Katy.

Agreed. It is grammatically correct but clunky so just change the sentence.

6thNight · 02/01/2025 17:45

In truth a proper noun isn't countable so cannot be expressed as a plural. Therefore the correct way would be 3 people/women/girls named Katy.

In practice, however, people do use proper nouns in the plural, and the spelling doesn't change.

VegTrug · 02/01/2025 17:47

naemates · 02/01/2025 16:17

If in doubt, add an apostrophe

Wink

No, an apostrophe is used when referring to something that belongs to someone- in this case Katy. So for example "We went to Katy's house"

Drivingoverlemons · 02/01/2025 17:54

This sort of thread is why I am on MN.

soupfiend · 02/01/2025 17:55

PokerFriedDips · 02/01/2025 17:15

There are 20 stone Jesuses in the average cathedral.

or Jesi?

Cakeandcardio · 02/01/2025 18:08

BobbyBiscuits · 02/01/2025 16:43

I do think that the plural of Katy must be Katies. Just because in English most words with a Y ending change to 'ies' in plural. Stories, cavities, ladies etc.

Definitely not! The rule does not apply to names

DreamW3aver · 02/01/2025 18:12

BobbyBiscuits · 02/01/2025 16:43

I do think that the plural of Katy must be Katies. Just because in English most words with a Y ending change to 'ies' in plural. Stories, cavities, ladies etc.

I really don't know if you're being serious, you dont change the spelling of proper nouns when there are more than one of them.

Theimpossiblegirl · 02/01/2025 18:15

There are 3 people called/with the name Katy/James/Jesus in the class.

If in doubt, avoid adding an s or apostrophe altogether.

upinaballoon · 02/01/2025 18:27

Katys

BobbyBiscuits · 02/01/2025 18:46

@Cakeandcardio I guess you're right. Like if it was Barry, Harry, Sally etc you wouldn't change it. I suppose it's because we're so used to Katy being spelt with 'ie'.

SevenOnTheClock · 02/01/2025 18:49

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 02/01/2025 16:45

There are three children named Katy in the class.

Avoids the issue.

And now seen that a previous poster beat me to it.

Edited

Unless they identify as rabbits rather than children

stclair · 02/01/2025 18:54

BellissimoGecko · 02/01/2025 17:21

There are two Jameses.

Show quote history

So this goes for two Chrises too?