I want to address two Doctor Smiths via the abbreviation “Drs. Smith”; what is the correct possessive form of that (plural) noun phrase? Is it “Drs. Smith’s”?
An example sentence:
Drs. Smith’s house is in an ideal location.`
Answer
I’m going to make an educated guess, which isn’t necessarily the best option but:
Technically, if you rewrite the phrase, you get:
The house belongs to the Drs. Smith.
Smith is singular, so the possessive form would be:
The Drs. Smith’s house.
Similarly, if the sentence was:
The house belongs to Drs. Joe and Jane Smith.
The possessive would be:
Drs. Joe and Jane Smith’s house.
Regardless, “Smith” is singular, so it doesn’t make sense to pluralize it.
Now, contrast this with the known method for “The Smiths'”:
The rewritten phrase would be:
The house belongs to the Smiths.
It’s plural here… so it makes sense that the possessive would be:
The Smiths’ house.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : AGB , Answer Author : Catija
