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