Language, grammar and spelling are not necessarily consistent but often based on convention. Many common nouns end in the letter s lens, cactus, bus, etc. If you call it a homeowners association or a teacher s strike with the apostrophe before the s, youre talking about an association of one homeowner or a strike by one teacher. Learn whether to use one apostrophe or two when two people own. Although it is not considered to be good english, you may add only the apostrophe words ending on unpronounced s. With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make nouns plural. Dec 04, 2015 at last, a book that tells you exactly where to stick your apostrophe david marsh simon griffins irreverent pocketsized guide to a tricky piece of punctuation is the perfect stocking filler. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards. Learn how to make plural words possessive, how to make words that end in s plural, and what to do about abbreviations. Paula, an executive assistant, wrote to ask me to continue the discussion of apostrophes. Apostrophes can be used in time expressions also called temporal expressions like a day s pay and two weeks notice. To show plural possession, make the noun plural first.
Therefore, the members of the jones family are the joneses. Grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar and. Heres the scoop on when to use apostrophes to make. Nov 01, 2006 our post apostrophes with names ending in s, ch, or z says, to show singular possession of a name ending in s or z, some writers add just an apostrophe. This entry originally appeared on clare lynch s blog, goodcopybadcopy this addendum to my previous blog entry on apostrophes is dedicated to the graphic designer friend of mine who recently posted a cry for help on facebook, asking which was correct. But the family name shouldnt be plural when speaking of the family unit. Each entry starts with a simple explanation and basic examples before moving to reallife, entertaining examples.
A new victorias secret ad abuses an apostrophe, but unfortunately, its a common error. Lets not forget that grandma lets the kids eat way too much junk food when they stay with her. Forming possessives of words ending in s or an s sound by karen yin 9 comments im going to focus on the difference between how the associated press stylebook and the chicago manual of style handle possessives for words ending in s or an s sound. So whether you write charles or charles s the s after the apostrophe is always said, even when it isnt written. Apostrophes with words ending in s grammar and punctuation. Books that have been in print before are given a digital future, alongside new titles from some of the world s best writers. Apostrophes have a complicated relationship with plurals. I would use james s, as james is a name, just like jack.
Are you confused about how to show the plural and the possessive of certain names. Dec 08, 2011 but in recent years i have noticed another s being added after the apostrophe. If there are multiple nouns that refer to more personsthings add s to both nouns. For example, the aardvarks pencil, where there is an apostrophes at the end of aardvark. Majority usage if majority opinion regarding apostrophes wins then the correct title is werewolf in a girls dormitory. However, allgirls school s mostly appears without an apostrophe.
A phenomenon named grammar girl outlines 9 ways to use an apostrophe but. Apostrophes the blue book of grammar and punctuation. The big question with these is where to put the apostrophe. Girls, girls or girls apostrophes and girls investigator magazine. Dogs bones, with only an apostrophe after the s, means the bones of the dogs dogs plural. Add an apostrophe then the s just as if it were a singular noun like this. For example, in when colin writes a s, they look like u s, the apostrophes prevent us from thinking that the writer meant as and us. Mignot fogarty, better known as grammar girl provides the public with an accessible reference on punctuation. The english apostrophe s and s apostrophe cause a lot of problems, even for native speakers. If there are multiple nouns, add s only to the last noun.
Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. Apostrophe english grammar today cambridge dictionary. Apostrophes with names ending in s, ch, or z are you confused about how to show the plural and the possessive of certain names. Just because it ends in an s, doesnt mean it should be treated like a plural, imo. Learn whether it s teachers strike or teachers strike, writers strike or writers strike, and homeowners association or homeowners association. At last, a book that tells you exactly where to stick your. Sam and mary johnson live in a large house with their two daughters rachel and jenna johnson. Learn some common mistakes with apostrophes and how to properly use. An important point is that if you use an apostrophe, make sure you put it after the final s.
The blue book of grammar and punctuation by jane straus the. So let s talk about apostrophes, now apostrophes are one of the simplest punctuation marks but i think one of the trickiest to use. If the noun is plural, or already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s. For proper names, you add the apostrophes to the end. However, it is also correct to just add the apostrophe. The girl s version of the title, with the apostrophe before the s, is wrong because that would refer to just one girl whereas the werewolf went after multiple girls. If the word already has an s, it only needs an apostrophe. The history of the apostrophe grammar girl quick and dirty tips. The plurals for capital letters and numbers used as nouns are not formed with apostrophes. An apostrophe is used after the s when more than one person or thing. The grammar guru thinks the sixties were a decade of great fashion. My last name is karsies and i am a 4th grade teacher who is a grammar fanatic. You use an apostrophe plus an s on the end of squiggly.
Apostrophes are one of the more confounding punctuation marks. If you are unsure where to insert the apostrophe when forming a contraction, consult a good dictionary. Here s the scoop on when to use apostrophes to make things plural. If the word ending with s is plural, add an apostrophe at the end to make it possessive. The normal rule when forming a possessive with a noun is to add an apostrophe and s. Edward and madeleine s books the books belong to both edward and madeleine one exception to this rule occurs if one of the owners is identified by a pronoun. It shows a relationship of belonging between one thing and another. If there are multiple nouns that refer to one personthing add s to the last noun. Compound possession grammar girl quick and dirty tips.
On the playground, jake stole the girl s jump rope. Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. Many publishers, for example, demand an apostrophe only following an s ending word, so woud prescribe doris. The plurals for capital letters and numbers used as. And, to be precise, the rule of adding s after a word ending in s, e. Posted on march 16, 2008 by writer s relief staff 28. Buy our book smashing grammar 2019 written by the founder of grammar monster, smashing grammar includes a glossary of grammar essentials from apostrophes to zeugma and a chapter on easily confused words from affecteffect to whetherif. It is important to put the apostrophe in the correct place, either before the s or after the s, depending on whether the subject is singular or plural. The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. Heres the scoop on when to use apostrophes to make things plural. Our post apostrophes with names ending in s, ch, or z says, to show singular possession of a name ending in s or z, some writers add just an apostrophe. When a plural noun ends in s, place an apostrophe after the s to show possession. Feb 27, 2015 everything you need to know about this little mark.
Punctuation is not grammar and doesnt follow grammatical rules. For other nouns, youd put just an apostrophe at the end, so if you had a bunch of cats and they had beds, you say that those are the cats beds, or if your parents shared a car, you would say it is your parents car. Naturally, her writer friends told her to ditch the apostrophe, which she did. The eggleses are a husband and wife consultant team. Examples include one with a singular noun ending in s venuss beauty. In a sentence such as the teacher preferred the girl s work to the. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for. Making an irregular plural noun possessive when it does not end in s is very simple. See rules 1b and 1c of apostrophes for more discussion. However checking apostrophe grammar using our free online apostrophe checker is faster and less likely to overlook any usage mistakes. If you search for signs with grammar errors online, most of the results. Every other week, the grammar guru will share writing tips to help make your work as polished as possible.
However, if the name or word itself ends in s for example, dress or ozymandias, then you find yourself in muddier waters. For plural, proper nouns that are possessive, use an apostrophe after the s. Want to know when to use the apostrophe and when to skip it. Learn some common mistakes with apostrophes and how to properly use them. Maybe you know to write i met the smiths, i drove brenda smith s ferrari, and i visited the smiths house. One major new use for the apostrophe was to indicate possession. The apostrophe with numbers, letters, and abbreviations. One can not see a possessive apostrophe in the spoken word, which can lead to a lot of confusion if the second s isnt spoken.
Possessive s grammar quiz james jameses truck broke down on the side of the road and he needs a lift. Should newcastle united s stadium be st james park or st james s park. If the word family comes after the family surname, the family name should remain singular. We only have an apostrophe after the s in dogs because dogs is a plural noun ending in s. Google search commonly, but not always, gives girls schools, apostrophe after the s. But what if the name is sanchez or church or williams rule. The adelaide phone book has a list headed schoolsgirls.
Plural words that dont end with s, such as children, do take an apostrophes at the end for possession. An apostrophe and the letter s are used to show possession. The apostrophe indicates that one bicycle belongs to one girl. Apostrophes and plurals grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Until now, i always assumed that a singular noun ending in s needed an apostrophe then an s to show possession. This lesson s task is to help you learn about possessives and contractions that need apostrophes and plurals that dont. If the noun is plural, the apostrophe usually goes after the s. Some writers and editors add only an apostrophe to all nouns ending in s. This makes the sentence easier to read and less confusing. First, a plural noun which already ends in s takes only a following apostrophe. Take a journey into the world of the rules of the apostrophe and tell us what you think. So, just as i would describe something belonging to jack as jack s, i would describe something belonging to james as james s.
Although the apostrophe is not used in writing plurals, it is used in writing the plurals of letters and other forms which would be difficult to read without the apostrophe. Mekita rivas, snr communications and project associate, publishes a biweekly feature called grammar guru. This lessons task is to help you learn about possessives and contractions that need apostrophes and plurals that dont. So let s talk about the three basic rules here, you use apostrophes first and probably most often to form possessive noun, so if ive got the noun sarah im going to add an s. Sometimes to indicate the structure of unusual words. She wants to know why boss s has an apostrophe and an s but chris has only an apostrophe the truth is that chris takes just an apostrophe only if you follow the rules in the the associated press stylebook.
Use an apostrophe after the s at the end of a plural noun to show possession. In other style guides, chris takes an apostrophe and an s. Apostrophe english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. It s arbitrary, and especially in the case of apostrophes, chaotic. Apostrophe rules can be broken into four main categories. Doris s, is really a matter of style, not a rule of grammar or orthography. The simplest and most likely solution is to omit all apostrophes which dont convey any information, or questions like this wouldnt be asked and rely on syntax to distinguish the girls teams, and the boys teams, from the girls and boys team. If the word does not already have an s, it needs the apostrophe followed by s. If it appears after the s, then it will most likely be plural, i. Various situations in possessives grammar call for a few seemingly tricky rules.
Where do you put the apostrophe after names that end in s. A 1772 edition of joseph priestleys the rudiments of english grammar, for example, says the possessive is formed by adding s with an apostrophe before it to a singular noun. England has the girls schools association and the usa the national coalition of girls schools. To show the plural of a name that ends with a ch, s, or z sound, add es. Words such as kansas that end with an s can be stumpers when it comes to apostrophes. For example, you could write, fortunately, the childrens room had a hidden doorway, with childrens written as children apostrophes. Sometimes, its called the grocers apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements 3 oranges for a dollar. Posters for the movie have a third variation, girls, the apostrophe after the s. Possession johns car, a friend of mine english grammar.
This is covered obliquely in the possessives and sibilants post, but it s worth addressing directly for greater clarity. With plural nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe after the s. The girl is the singular subject and the bicycle is the singular object. Aug 12, 2019 get grammar girls take on apostrophe catastrophe. To show the plural of a name that ends in s, ch, or z, add es. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the.
Aug 10, 20 a new victoria s secret ad abuses an apostrophe, but unfortunately, it s a common error. Its the moment all the punctuation marks have been eagerly awaiting. Family names ending in s become plural by adding es on the end, after the s. We use apostrophes to write about oprahs new recommendation, j. To show possession with a singular noun, add an apostrophe plus the letter s. With plural nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and s. Apostrophe books is a new epublishing company that combines the high standards of old media with the cuttingedge technology of new media. Mar 01, 2016 apostrophes and possessive nouns, part 2. Some editors or instructors may require no additional s when the proper noun already ends in an s, such as jones or texas. Apostrophes with names ending in s, ch, or z grammar and. English apostrophe rules are not difficult to master. Mar 16, 2008 wondering when a noun should use s, s, s, or es to show possession.
The book, common sense or more specifically the authorship of the book, belongs equally to lederer and shore, so only the second name, shore, takes the apostrophe and s. Double possessives grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Most genitives are formed with s the term genitive includes a larger range of relationships than possessiveownership my dog, temporary possession his cookie, a natural trait his tail, a family relationship his mom, origin his city, performer of an action his arrival, and more. As far as we can tell, an apostrophe plus the letter s has generally been used to mark the possessive case of singular nouns since at least the 1700s. Sometimes, it s called the grocer s apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements 3 orange s for a dollar. We use apostrophes to show possession, form contractions, and make odd plurals. If the plural form of the noun does not end in s, the apostrophe goes before the s. Just remember that all possessives need an apostrophe and an s at the end. Dec 29, 2016 get grammar girl s take on apostrophes. Jerrys shows were canceled, putting an apostrophes after both tom and jerry. In this interview about his book bad english, ammon shea explains the.
1520 285 1270 720 349 948 125 421 88 240 757 245 1547 1076 567 819 140 979 718 1476 1028 248 670 841 1213 299 1424 763 701 1191 1102 695 621 27 1257 412 1027 729 1449 799 647