The Apostrophe:
Uses, Misuse’s and Abuses’
The Apostrophe - Uses
Looks like this: ’
Not like this: ‘ Has 2 functions
The Apostrophe - Uses
Indicates a letter is missing:
I’m he’s can’t jumpin’ th’end
The Apostrophe - Uses
Sometimes letters are missing:
I’d we’d they’ve I’ve
The Apostrophe - Uses
Can also show possession
Jim’s computer Andy’s presentation The student’s knapsack
The Apostrophe - Uses
Originally, in old English, possession was shown by adding ‘es’ to a noun:
Jimes computer Andyes presentation The studentes
knapsack
The Apostrophe - Uses
Possession was also shown by adding the word ‘his’:
Jim his computer Andy his presentation The student his
knapsack
The Apostrophe - Uses
Notice that with both cases—the ‘es’ ending or the ‘his’ ending—the modern day usage of the apostrophe indicates letters are missing:
Jimes computer is now Jim’s computer
The missing letter is ‘e’
Andy his presentation is Andy’s presentation
The missing letters are ‘hi’
The Apostrophe - Uses
To show possession by a plural noun, add the apostrophe after the ‘s’
The students’ knapsacks lay all over the place.
My sisters’ friends are coming to visit.
The babies’ diapers need changing. (Rey, are you busy?)
The Apostrophe - Uses
If the plural noun is irregular and thus does not end in ‘s’, add apostrophe ‘s’
The children’s clothing The men’s room Women’s magazine The people’s leader
The Apostrophe – a Quiz
My brother’s teacher’s cars My brothers’ teacher’s cars My brother’s teachers’ cars My brothers’ teachers’ cars
The Apostrophe
If you want to show possession by something or someone whose name ends in ‘s’, add apostrophe ‘s’
James’s cat This is the boss’s pen Jesus’s beard The mistress’s lover
The Apostrophe - Abuses
Don’t put an apostrophe after numbers. To express a decade in numerical form just add an ‘s’:
The 1970’s x
The 1970s
Back in the 80’s x
Back in the ’80s
The Apostrophe - Abuses
The easy way to remember this is to write out the year as a word:
The Seventies The Eighties
Notice there is no apostrophe
The Apostrophe - Abuses
Don’t put an apostrophe after an acronym. Just put a small ‘s’:
CD’s x
CDs
DVD’s x
DVDs
The Apostrophe - Abuses
Some homeowners and many cottage owners put the name of their family somewhere on their property, like this:
The Martin’s The Nielsen’s The McKinlay’s The Cleary’s
But do you see why this is wrong?
The Apostrophe - Abuses
First of all they are a family so more than one person lives there.
If they are going to use an apostrophe it should go after their pluralized surname:
The Martins’ house
The Nielsens’ cottage
The McKinlays’ igloo
The Clearys’ hut
The Apostrophe - Abuses
But more importantly, the apostrophe is just not necessary.
They should put their pluralized surname with a ‘The’ in front.
Or just put their surname:
The Martins
The Nielsens
McKinlay
Cleary
The Apostrophe - a Quiz
How do we convey two essays written by two guys named James?
A) James’ essays B) James’s essays C) Jameses’s essays D) None of the above
And the correct answer is…
The Apostrophe – a Quiz
D) None of the above Anytime the apostrophe begins to make your pronunciation sound awkward, don’t use the apostrophe. Find another way.
The essays written by the Jameses.
The essays written by James and James.
The Apostrophe - Review
1) Use the apostrophe to indicate a missing letter:
You’re ready to find funny errors, right?
2) Use the apostrophe to indicate possession:
Andy’s PowerPoint is about to get even more interesting!
The Apostrophe – on Bloor
The Apostrophe – on Bloor
The Apostrophe – on Bloor
The Apostrophe – on Bloor
The Apostrophe – on Bloor
The Apostrophe – on Bloor
The Apostrophe – on Bloor
The Apostrophe – Misuses?
http://fiveprime.org/hivemind/Tags/apostrophe,grammar
The Apostr’phe – Th’end