Jonas’s or Jonas’?

The term Jonas’s is the correct singular possessive form for the name Jonas e.g.  “Jonas’s mom came to talk about school at the meeting.” It is  endorsed by the Chicago Manual of Styles. Furthermore the term Jonas’ is another singular possessive form for the name Jonas e.g. Jonas’s music made the beach party more fun. This form is guided by the Associated Press Stylebook.

Take a look at the chart below of the different possessive forms of the name Jonas.

Form	Example
Singular	Jonas
Plural	Jonases
Singular possessive	Jonas’s/ Jonas’
Plural possessive	Jonases’

As you can see Jonas has two singular possessive forms. See the examples of each of the forms below:

Plural: The Jonases’ backyard is a favorite spot for family barbecues.

Singular possessive: Jonas’s cousins shared fun stories at the big family gathering. 

Singular possessive: Jonas’  aunt brought tasty apple pie to the family picnic.

Plural possessive:

From the above examples, you can see that the plural form for Jonasa is Jonases. It follows the english rules that guides that you add es  at the end of proper nouns to form its plural.

• The Jonases attend church together on Sundays.

 To avoid mixing up these terms in the future or prevent any mistakes, keep reading the rest of this lesson to understand even more.

Jonas’s

The term Jonas’s with an apostrophe and additional ‘s’ is the standard singular form for the term Jonas. Use it when you are referring to something that is owned by a person named Jonas. 

This is the most common form of the two possessive forms. It is also guided by the chicago manual of style

• Jonas’s mom came to talk about school at the meeting.
• Everyone liked Jonas’s choice of movies for our movie night.
• Jonas’s friends were happy he helped plan a surprise party.
• Jonas’s family dinners have yummy homemade food.

However  some people do remove the s at the end when writing if the following word starts with “s”. They do so to make it clear to understand or make the pronunciations much easier.

• Jonas’ sister’s surprise gift brought a smile to his face.
• Jonas’ science project’s success was celebrated by the whole class.

 There is nothing wrong with that and it is acceptable by many styling guides.

Which take us to the next possessive form  “Jonas’”

Jonas’

Jonas’ is another grammatically acceptable singular possessive form for the name Jona’s. Though less common in modern English, this was the most popular form used before the 1980s. 

Having said that,  Jonas’ is the form that is endorsed by the Associated Press Stylebook.

So use it when referring to something( tangible or intangible) that belongs to a person named Jonas. 

I personally prefer this version because it is clearer than the other form and can be easier to pronounce when the next word starts with s.

• Jonas’ backpack contains his favorite books.
• The success of the science fair project was due to Jonas’ efforts.
• Jonas’ favorite subject in school is science.
• During the camping trip, Jonas’ tent was set up near the river.
• In the family photo album, Jonas’ birthday party is a highlight.
• Jonas’ movie collection includes classic comedies.

Jonases’

The term Joneses’,  ending with an apostrophe is the plural form for the name Jonas.

It follows the english rules that guides that you add an apostrophe to plural proper nouns to form their possessives.

 Use it if you are talking about something that is owned by multiple people named Jonas. This is common when you are talking about family members with the surname Jonas.

• During family reunions, the Jonases’ traditions create lasting memories.
• The Jonases’ aunts’ and uncles’ presence adds warmth to gatherings.
• The Jonases’ cousins enjoy playing games together.
• Camping trips are awesome adventures for the Jonases’ siblings.
• Cooking in the kitchen is fun with the Jonases‘ parents.
• Picnics become special with the Jonases’ aunts and uncles.