Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Sierra or Sierra's?

I've heard it called both by different people. What is the correct name?

It is the Sierra Nevada mountain range, commonly referred to as "the Sierras".

Hi A guy drives out from Silver Spring Md. to tell me in our book I called it Silver Springs. Also found a few more earth shaking errors but missed the best one. One of our trusted proof readers did not catch that his name was spelled wrong in several places!

What works best if you are corrected either way continue to use the one that is not correct. Look to the right or left of the person that is correcting you as if someone or something is behind them, enlarge you eyes , lean again right or left and say nothing.

Sierra is analogous to Himalaya (the range and already plural)

everyone knows what you mean, -s or not.

A lot worse English is spoken than this

Except you are completely wrong...Sierra.

Unless, you are talking about Sierra Leone, Sierra Madre, and Sierra Nevada...then 3 Sierras.
Here, ours is Sierra - just Sierra.

Somebody should tell Clovis that their sign is wrong.

I have worked at an advertising agency in Lake Tahoe for 15 years. Writing ad copy, brochure copy, press releases and website copy for all of our resort clients, it is definitely Sierra. Harvey is completely correct in that Sierra is a plural word. When I hear Sierras I cringe.

Hi Ah you all might be right by common usage?

I also struggle with saying "Sierra" - it's just doesn't sound plural enough... an easy fix is to just say "Sierra mountains" - now that sounds plural...

REDUNDANT!

But I don't care.

I thought that Sierra was spanish for mountain range so saying "Sierra mountains" would be redundant wouldn't it?

You're all wrong. The thread is asking about an apostrophe-s, possessive case. "Some of the Sierra's best rock climbing can be found in the Whitney Portal."

(Obviously, if you were talking specifically about the "Southern Sierra" and the "Northern Sierra" as having unique characteristics, you could NEVER, NEVER, EVER refer to the different areas as a group as "Sierras"... That would deserve an ass-kicking pronto!)

maybe Sierra Cement's original post had the title wrong

did he mean
(A) Sierra or Sierra's
or
(B) Sierra or Sierras

if A, then Jeff is correct about possessive.

if B, then all the other comments flow from there.

Of course, Sierra is lazy for Sierra Nevada.

Would those who (incorrectly) say
"I have been to the Sierras"

actually be saying:
"I have been to the Sierra Nevadas"?

Never heard that, just Sierra Nevada mountains (redundant)

I am surprised this thread has legs. I am guilty, too.

Edit: This just in from CNN
This historic drought demands unprecedented action," Brown told reporters, standing on a patch of dry, brown grass in the Sierra Nevada mountains that is usually blanketed by up to 5 feet of snow.

Exactly. That's why I always tell people that I'm headed to "The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range between the Central Valley of California and the Basin and Range Province, United States" for the weekend. (Lest someone confuse my destination with the Sierra Nevada Range in the Andalucia region in Spain---which happens all the time...)

I love this topic!

It must take all weekend to tell people where you're going. When do you find time to hike?

I guess it would if I ever actually went anywhere. Truth be told, I haven't hiked in years. I spend most of my time giving expert advice on the internet.

Ask me what the Whitney conditions will be like at the end of October...

[insert emoticon of your choice here]

Does any of this have anything to do with a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale?

So as I understand it now it would be Clovi Siera montana de la frontera se linea de grande gordo._'s Interesting side note just North of Cedar city Ut one of the early Spanish exploring expeditions found winter setting in and looked west seeing the mountain range in the distance thought it was the Coastal range covered with snow and cast the lot to return to Mexico if I recall the year was 1520.

I wasn't necessarily referring to a possessive with that apostrophe. Apostrophe or not I was asking if an "s" is correct or not. It sounds like it should be "Sierra" with no "s". I don't want to get my ass kicked for saying it wrong!!

It was named by the Spanish - Un Gran Sierra Nevada
translates to a large snowy (Nevada) Saw.
Saw can be singular or plural. Sierra can be singular or plural. It should be Sierra.