Dark corners of the language: the apostrophe
February 14th 2009 06:07
Thirty years of politically correct correctness and educational fadism have relegated grammar to the back burner on the stove of intellectual awareness. In particular, correct usage of the apostrophe has collapsed, especially on the Internet and in small newsletters. It's as if the words its and it's have swapped places.
Sharon Colon, The Sharon Colon Apostrophe Manifesto
Newspapers around the world have gone high-tech, but the beating heart of all great newspapers, the subs' desk, has changed little. It is still ruled by grizzled veterans whose instinct for language is unparalleled because nobody else spends all day, every day, making so many decisions about the integrity of so many words written by so many people.
They are fierce guardians of the Style Guide of the publication for which they work, but they are by extension amongst the most vigilant protectors of the integrity of language.
Including correct usage of the poss, as English-language sub-editors often call the apostrophe.
It is a big subject, and it is one which can cause great frustration for users of English. What follows is an attempt to demonstrate common usage, and common errors, through examples. The plan is then to offer a series of exercises, as Bloggercises already does with spelling, redundancies and clichés, to help readers master use of the apostrophe through the expedience of repetition.
The material is presented in four sections:
- Possession
- Omission
- Indicating plurals
- Incorrect use
Possession
Apostrophes are used to denote possession in several ways.
Apostrophe before the s
Singular nouns: Sam's bike, Obama's presidency, day's end.
Singular nouns that end in s: boss's demand, James's decision.
Plural nouns which do not end in s: children's toys, the media's coverage, the Frenchmen's story.
Apostrophe after the s
Plural nouns: the houses' addresses, the employees' roster
People's and peoples'
To learn correct usage of these two is to learn much about correct use of apostrophes. The trick is to understand that the word people can take both singular and plural form. The People's Republic of China belongs to the people of China, the people here being a collective, single group. Peoples' views on China refers to the views of many people.
Omission
Contraction
The contraction of two words to form one is denoted by an apostrophe, which is inserted in place if the missing letter or letters. For example: I've, you've, we've, she's, it's (see item 1 above), who's, I'd, they'd, don't, haven't, didn't, weren't, can't, she'll, he'll.
The rule also applies to numbers. Hence: '60s, '70s, '80s etc (but never 80's or 1980's).
It's and its
This perhaps causes more hair to be forcefully removed from its natural resting place than any other grammatical issue. Obviously, one of them is short for it is, and the other one means something belongs to it. To help tell them apart in writing, only one takes an apostrophe. But which one? Try to remember the aphorism offered in an earlier Bloggercises post , "You can't possess your its and apostrophise it too." Meaning, the possessive form takes no apostrophe. Or try this, "It's obvious that its tail is wagging."
Your and you're
Another source of frustration for many people. Your belongs to you; you're is short for you are. You're not alone if you're confused. Your confusion is not yours alone.
Note: Ain't ain't a word.
Indicating plurals
Consider the following sentences: There are two o's in woolly; he was told to mind his p's and q's. The apostrophes are used here for clarity. It would be harder to read the sentence without them.
Spot the error
Incorrect use
Apostrophes are often added where none is required. Apostrophes should be used only to denote contraction or possession. Plurals never take apostrophes (except for clarity - see 'Indicating plurals' above), even shortened ones such as MPs, MP3s, CDs, TVs and FAQs. The following sentence, for example, needs no apostrophes: The Joneses borrow DVDs from the Smiths.
No apostrophes are required with words which themselves denote possession, such as 'their', 'our' and 'your'. For example: The mistake was theirs alone; the problem was ours, not yours.
No apostrophe is required in the following: In the 1920s. However, contracting it would create: In the '20s.
The Complete Plain Words (Sir Ernest Gowers, Penguin), The Economist Style Guide, www.deakin.edu.au, www.sharoncolon.com, apostropheusage.wordpress.com
| 58 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Janet Collins
Acceptable Etiquette
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
And I had always thought that we should leave off the additional "s" with these ones such as boss' demand.
Interesting post.
Comment by Chris Champion
Vyoos
Zoomies
Bloggercises
The Blog of Lists
Newly Old
Money Whither
Excellent point and perhaps I should add something about it.
Boss' demand and boss's demand are both correct (as are bosses' demands and bosses's demands to signify the demands of more than one boss). So long as a writer is consistent, she can choose one way or the other.
Adding the extra s, however, can sometimes be clumsy, such as with 'Mrs Chambers's estate'. I'd definitely leave the extra s off that one.
Comment by Spike 2
Qwerk
Peanut Butter
Comment by Chris Champion
Vyoos
Zoomies
Bloggercises
The Blog of Lists
Newly Old
Money Whither
Your old English teacher, venerable an authority that she no doubt was, would find other venerable authorities that disagree, including Sir Ernest Gowers.
One of the interesting things here is that, while it is grammatically correct to use either, they are pronounced differently. This is comfortable with both "Mr Jones' house" and "Mr Jones's house", but can become uncomfortable with plurals: "the bosses' edict" versus "the bosses's edict". The second is awful to say, but the first is ambiguous, because when merely heard, the listener can't tell whether it's one boss or more.
Comment by Elizabeth2-7
A shadow of herself
Thank you
Comment by Chris Champion
Vyoos
Zoomies
Bloggercises
The Blog of Lists
Newly Old
Money Whither
I was never going to win against Spike's old English teacher. I concede!
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Chris Champion
Vyoos
Zoomies
Bloggercises
The Blog of Lists
Newly Old
Money Whither
In both your examples, the use of the apostrophe is correct. "I've" and "you've" are contractions of I have and you have. They are slightly less formal, a distinction which a writer might make, but they are equally correct in terms of grammar, in both British and American English.
Other examples are can't, couldn't, could've, we've, they've etc. The apostrophes, in this case, denote contraction, and generally go where letters have been removed.
So is it correct to write, "I shouldn't've done that"?
I admit I'm not certain, but I think it's probably a contraction too far