Apostrophes - How to Find and Correct Mistakes - McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage

McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage, 2nd Edition (2013)

Part II. How to Find and Correct Mistakes

Chapter 12. Apostrophes

If you thought commas were a handful, meet the apostrophe—one of the more misused of our punctuation symbols. In this chapter you’ll discover—or rediscover—that they are not just for indicating possession.

1. Apostrophes indicating possession: In this section, we examine the peculiar origin of the possessive apostrophe. Understanding how the possessive apostrophe came about helps make sense out of how it works today. The key to understanding the possessive apostrophe is to think of the two possessive apostrophe forms (-’s and -s’) as having these meanings:

-’s This means possessive only. Do not think of -’s as meaning the singular possessive. Instead, think of -’s as meaning the possessive form of whatever noun the -’s is attached to. This makes sense of the possessive apostrophe for both regular and irregular nouns.

-s’ This means both plural and possessive.

The next component deals with two topics:

• How to spell possessives, especially possessives of names that end in -s

• How to treat compound possessives

The final component of this section gives two tests for recognizing possessives:

• The of test, which uses an of paraphrase to identify possessives

• The possessive pronoun test, which uses possessive pronouns to recognize possessive nouns

2. Apostrophes in contractions and the problem of it’s and its: The most common contractions are of personal pronouns plus helping verbs (for example, I’m, you’ve, we’ll) and helping verbs plus not (aren’t, can’t, won’t). While actual mistakes with these contractions are rare, the biggest problem is overuse. In formal, nonfiction writing, contractions are marginally acceptable at best. If you have any doubts about the appropriateness of contractions in what you are writing, then do not use them.

The second main topic of this section is the problem of choosing between it’s and its. It’s is the contracted form of it is. Its is the possessive form of the personal pronoun it. A highly useful test is to see if you can replace it’s or itswith the noncontracted form it is. If you can, then it’s is correct. If you cannot, then its is correct.

3. Other uses of the apostrophe: In this section, we examine three other uses of the apostrophe:

• Apostrophes in expressions of time, value, and measure: The term possessive is somewhat misleading because apostrophes are used for more than showing possession. Apostrophes are also used to show relations of time, value, and measure, for example:

image

The of/for paraphrase test for apostrophes with expressions of time, value, and measure is a reliable way to confirm that a time, value, or measure expression requires an apostrophe. For example, the fact that we can paraphrase a night’s sleep as sleep of (or for) a night is confirmation that we need to use an apostrophe.

• Apostrophes to indicate the subjects of gerund phrases: Gerund phrases are noun phrases headed by gerunds, for example:

Orville hated Wilbur’s flying all those stupid kites.

Gerund phrases are really reduced sentences. When we retain the subject underlying the verb in the gerund, that retained subject must be made possessive (Wilbur’s in the example just cited).

A helpful test for identifying the subjects of gerund phrases is the possessive pronoun test. If you can replace the noun with a possessive pronoun, then the noun requires a possessive as the subject of a gerund. For example, we can replace Wilbur’s in the example with his, confirming that Wilbur’s is the subject of a gerund phrase.

Apostrophes for plurals of letters: Apostrophes are used to indicate plurals of lowercase letters and also lowercase acronyms and initialisms. For example:

image

Until fairly recently, the apostrophe could form the plural of other special terms, such as numbers and symbols, but this is no longer the case, according to most style guides and editors.

Apostrophes Indicating Possession

Our use of the apostrophe to indicate possession does not go back much beyond Shakespeare’s time. We will begin the discussion of the possessive apostrophe with an account of the strange origin of the possessive apostrophe. Only by understanding how this use of the apostrophe came about can we make sense of how it is used.

The Origin of the Possessive Apostrophe—or How Did We Get in This Mess?

The origin of the Modern English use of the apostrophe to indicate possession is a curious tale. In older forms of English, the apostrophe had only a single use: to indicate missing letters. If you were a sign painter in Chaucer’s time and had to write a long word on a small sign, you would probably use apostrophes to show your readers that you had deliberately left out some letters in order to fit the words into the space available. For example, if you did not have enough room to write “Established 1385,” you might write this: “Est’blish’d 1385.”

The story of the apostrophe now takes a strange twist. In the sixteenth century, when literacy was just becoming widespread in England, publishers saw a market for books that purported to teach newly literate people how to write properly. (Some things never change!) Some of these books popularized the notion that the -s marker in possessive nouns was really a contraction of his. For example, the phrase John’s book was thought to be a contraction of the phrase John, his book. Because the his is contracted to -s, it was argued, the possessive should properly be written with an apostrophe to show the missing letters. As a result, instead of the older form Johns book (without an apostrophe), we then got John’s book (with an apostrophe).

Now, from a historical standpoint, this is complete nonsense. The -s ending on nouns is as old as time and has absolutely nothing to do with the English possessive pronoun his. To see how dopey the idea is, imagine how hard it would be to explain how Jane, her book could possibly have morphed into Jane’s book. Despite the fact that there is absolutely no historical or linguistic basis for writing the possessive with an apostrophe, it has become part of the standards of Modern English. Deal with it.

Over time, the idea that the apostrophe in possessive phrases represents a contraction has been forgotten. People have come to think of the apostrophe as a marker of the possessive—a way to distinguish a possessive -s from a plural -s, for example:

image

The strange story of the apostrophe now takes its final twist. Once the idea has been established that the apostrophe is a marker representing the idea of “possession,” then we are free to move the apostrophe marker after the -s to indicate that the -s is both plural and possessive, for example:

image

Making Sense out of the Possessive Apostrophe

Here is the best way to think of the possessive apostrophe. There are three -s endings for nouns. We use the apostrophe to distinguish them from one another:

image

The key idea here is to think of the -’s as meaning only possessive, not singular possessive. The reason for this is the possessive forms of irregular nouns. Many irregular nouns form their plural not by adding an -s but by changing the vowel. Here are three common irregular nouns with this type of plural:

image

Notice that both the singular possessive and the plural possessive are formed the same way: with -’s. If we think of -’s as inherently meaning singular possessive, then the -’s with the plural possessive forms men’s, women’s, and children’s makes no sense.

Instead, if we think of -’s as meaning the possessive form of whatever noun the -’s is attached to, then everything makes sense.

When -’s is attached to a regular singular noun, it means that the singular noun is now in its possessive form, for example:

cat + -’s = cat’s (The possessive form of the singular noun cat.)

When -’s is attached to an irregular plural noun, it means that the plural noun is now in its possessive form, for example:

men + -’s = men’s (The possessive form of the plural noun men.)

women + -’s = women’s (The possessive form of the plural noun women.)

children + -’s = children’s (The possessive form of the plural noun children.)

The Spelling and Use of Possessives

We will now get down to the fine print about spelling and using apostrophes.

Spelling the Possessive Form of Names Ending in -s. For the most part, the possessive of names (proper nouns) is exactly what you would expect: add -’s, for example, Uncle George’s car, Mrs. Smith’s address, and Argentina’s foreign policy. The problem is that some polysyllabic names end with an -s or s-like sibilant sound, in which case you can break the rule and spell the singular possessive with just an apostrophe. For example, besides the expected -’sspelling of names like these:

Dickens’s novels
Ted Williams’s hitting streak
Dylan Thomas’s poetry

you will see possessive spellings like the following:

Dickens’ novels
Ted Williams’ hitting streak
Dylan Thomas’ poetry

Most (but not all) reference books recommend just using the -’s spelling for the possessive of all names, whether they end in an -s or not. There are, however, two genuine exceptions: Jesus and Moses. The possessive of these two names is conventionally spelled with just an apostrophe:

In Jesus’ name
Moses’ Commandments

The Possessive Form of Compound Names. Most of the time, compounded names imply joint ownership. In that case, only the last noun uses -’s, for example:

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Bill’s house
Laurel and Hardy’s comedies
San Francisco and Oakland’s METRO system
Charles and Diana’s marriage

If the compound does not imply joint ownership, then both nouns use -’s, for example:

John’s and Ruth’s offices are on opposite sides of the building.

The president’s and the treasurer’s duties are both given in the charter.

The Democrats’ ideas and the Republicans’ ideas completely clashed.

Testing for Possessives

There are two useful tests for identifying possessive nouns.

The of Test

You can paraphrase many possessive nouns by using the word of. An additional benefit of the of test is that the paraphrase helps the user decide whether the possessive noun is singular or plural. Here are some examples:

X the judges decision

of paraphrase: (a) the decision of the judge, or (b) the decision of the judges

At this point, you, the writer, have to decide whether you are talking about one judge or multiple judges. If there is one judge, the correct answer is the judge’s decision. If there are multiple judges, the correct answer is the judges’ decision.

X a teachers pet

of paraphrase: (a) the pet of a teacher, or (b) the pet of the teachers

If (a) is correct, then the answer is a teacher’s pet. If (b) is correct, then the answer is a teachers’ pet.

The Possessive Pronoun Test

Noun phrases containing possessive nouns can be replaced by the appropriate possessive pronoun: his, her, its, or their. For example:

X The court ordered the suspects release.

In this sentence, we can confirm that suspects is a possessive because we can replace it (and whatever adjectives happen to modify it) with an appropriate possessive pronoun:

X The court ordered the suspects release.

The court ordered his/her [or their] release.

The fact that a possessive pronoun can replace suspects confirms that suspects is a possessive and should be used with a possessive apostrophe:

The court ordered the suspect’s [or suspects’] release.

Here is a second example:

X The children played the queens helpers.

We can replace the queens with her (or their, in the case of more than one queen):

X The children played the queens helpers.

The children played her [or their] helpers.

The fact that we can replace queens with her (or their) tells us that queens is a singular (or plural) possessive noun:

The children played the queen’s [or queens’] helpers.

Summary

Apostrophes are used to signal when an -s is used as a possessive:

An -’s ending signals that the noun is possessive.

An -s’ ending signals that the noun is both plural and possessive.

Two helpful tests for identifying possessive nouns are the of test and the possessive pronoun test. Both tests also help you determine whether the possessive noun is singular or plural.

Apostrophes in Contractions and the Problem of It’s and Its

The tradition of using an apostrophe to indicate missing letters has come down through the ages largely unchanged. We still use apostrophes to show missing letters in notes and other quickly written messages. However, we most often use apostrophes in our writing today to indicate the missing letters in the contracted pronunciation of words.

Apostrophes in Contractions

The most commonly used contracted words are combinations of personal pronouns plus helping verbs, especially the helping verbs be, have, and will.

Here are some examples (the contracted letters are in bold):

Be

image

Have

image

Will

image

The other common group of contractions is a helping verb plus not, for example:

image

The last example, won’t, is the oddest contraction. The reason is historical. In the Middle Ages, there was no standard form of English. There were often substantial differences in dialect, even from village to village. Sometimes different dialect forms of the same word have both survived into Modern English. That is the case with will and won’t. We got will from one dialect and the historically related word won’t from another dialect. (Trivia time: another example of related words from different dialects is fox and vixen. A vixen is a female fox. Vixen is from a dialect area in which f changed to v.)

While errors in writing contractions do occur, they are infrequent. Here are the two most common contraction errors:

X are’nt

X does’nt

Examine them closely, and see if you can recognize a pattern to the mistakes.

What these two errors seem to show is that the writers are using the apostrophe to divide words by meaning, not to indicate missing letters. That is, the apostrophes are used to separate the verb (are, does) from the attached negative (not). It is like the writers are using the contraction apostrophe the way they might use a hyphen to separate compound words.

The biggest problem with contractions is not that they are misspelled but that they are used where they should not be. Contractions are perfectly normal in fiction, especially in dialogue, where the writer is attempting to convey something of the sound of actual spoken language.

In formal, nonfiction writing, however, contractions are only marginally acceptable. In more formal writing, the best bet would be to avoid contractions completely. There is a tendency to let contractions slip back in when we are composing. When we are in the process of writing, most of us actually “hear” in our minds the words as we write them. The fact that we hear the words leads us into writing down on paper what seems natural to our ear. This is a mistake. We need to edit our writing with the cold eye of a hostile lawyer, focusing only on what is actually written on the page.

The Problem of It’s and Its

Of all the errors involving apostrophes, by far the most common is the confusion of it’s and its. It’s is the contracted form of it is. Its is the possessive form of the personal pronoun it. To talk about these similar constructions, we will call it’s the contracted it’s, and we will call its the possessive its. Compare the following sentences:

Contracted it’s: We will go, even if it’s raining.

Possessive its: I hated the place. Its constant rain drove me crazy.

One reason for the confusion is the fact that we tend to associate the apostrophe with possession, as in John’s book and Mary’s bicycle. This association causes us to think of the apostrophe in it’s as a possessive apostrophe. By the same token, the fact that its does not have an apostrophe makes us forget that its really is a possessive.

Let us begin by looking at all the personal pronouns:

image

As you can see, none of the possessive personal pronouns uses an apostrophe. (Remember, possessive nouns did not use apostrophes either until the sixteenth century, and then it was only by mistake.)

The apostrophe in it’s is not a possessive marker. The apostrophe is used to indicate a missing letter in the contraction of it is.

Intellectually, then, it is easy to see the difference between it’s and its. What we need, though, is a simple, practical way that we can use to decide whether to use it’s or its. Fortunately, there is such a test.

The It Is Test

Anytime you see it’s or its, stop and see if you can replace the it’s or its with the uncontracted expression it is. If it is sounds fine, then use the contracted it’s. If it is sounds truly weird (a technical linguistic term), then use the possessive its.

Here are some examples of the it is test in action:

X Its time to get going.
it is test: It is time to get going.

This sounds fine, so we need to use the contracted it’s:

It’s time to get going.

image

“It is conclusion” sounds terrible. Therefore, we need to use the possessive its:

I couldn’t believe that report! Its conclusion is absurd!

X The committee announced it’s cancellation of the meeting.
image

“It is cancellation” sounds terrible. We need to use the possessive its:

The committee announced its cancellation of the meeting.

X The committee announced its canceling the meeting.
image

“It is canceling” sounds fine. We need to use the contracted it’s:

The committee announced it’s canceling the meeting.

Summary

An important use of apostrophes is to indicate missing letters in contractions. Contractions should be used sparingly in formal, nonfiction writing.

The most common error involving contractions is the confusion over whether it’s is the contracted form of it is or the possessive personal pronoun its. A highly useful test is to see if you can replace it’s or its with the noncontracted form it is. If you can, then the contracted it’s is correct. If you cannot, then use the possessive pronoun its.

Other Uses of the Apostrophe

So far, we have seen in this chapter on apostrophes that there are two main uses of the apostrophe:

1. To indicate possession

2. To mark missing letters in contractions

In this section, we will examine three other uses of the apostrophe: (1) to express time, value, and measure relationships; (2) to signal the subjects of gerund phrases; and (3) to indicate the plural of lowercase letters and lowercase abbreviations.

Apostrophes in Expressions of Time, Value, and Measure

What we call the possessive is something of a misnomer. To see why this is so, we need to take another excursion into history. In earlier forms of English, nouns and pronouns had a set of distinctive endings called cases. There were a subject case, two object cases (one for the direct objects of verbs, the other for the objects of prepositions and for the indirect objects of verbs), and a genitive case (the ancestor of the possessive in Modern English). The personal pronouns of Modern English have preserved most of this older case system. For example, I is a subject pronoun, me is an object pronoun, and my is historically a genitive pronoun.

The genitive case was used for a variety of functions. By far the most common and important of these functions was to show possession or ownership. That function, of course, is why we call it the possessive in Modern English. The next most common function for the genitive was for expressions of time, value, and measure. People counted in the genitive case. (Trivia time: Modern English preserves odd bits of the old genitive counting system. For example, when we say “a ten-foot ladder,” the word foot is actually plural—a plural genitive, that is.)

Today, the use of the possessive (née genitive case) is alive and well for expressions of time and for certain expressions of value and measure. Here are some examples:

image

As you can see, all of the expressions require the use of an apostrophe. Omitting the apostrophe with this construction is a relatively common error. Undoubtedly, the main reason for the error is that writers so strongly associate the apostrophe with the meaning of possession that they do not see the need to use the apostrophe with these nonpossessive expressions. Just to take the first example of a night’s sleep, it is indeed impossible to see a possessive relationship. A night does not own or possess sleep in any ordinary sense of the words own or possess. To take another example, in a stone’s throw, it is hard to see how a stone can own or possess a throw.

The first step in correcting this error is to simply be alert to the need for apostrophes in expressions of time, value, and measure. The second step is to use the following test to confirm the need for an apostrophe:

The of/for Paraphrase Test

See if you can paraphrase expressions of time, value, and measure by reversing the words and adding of or for. If you can, then you need to use an apostrophe with the words expressing time, value, or measure. If the test does not yield a meaningful result, you probably do not need to add an apostrophe.

Here are a number of examples using the of/for paraphrase test:

X Sleep is a problem in todays fast-paced society.
of/for test: Sleep is a problem in the fast-paced society of today.
Sleep is a problem in today’s fast-paced society.

X We are still debating this years budget.
of/for test: We are still debating the budget for this year.
We are still debating this year’s budget.

X After an hours nap, I went back to work.
of/for test: After the nap of an hour, I went back to work.
After an hour’s nap, I went back to work.

X It is a long days drive from here to Cleveland.
of/for test: It is the drive of a long day from here to Cleveland.
It is a long day’s drive from here to Cleveland.

Apostrophes to Indicate the Subjects of Gerund Phrases

Gerund phrases are noun phrases headed by gerunds. Gerunds are the -ing forms of verbs used as nouns. Here are several examples of gerund phrases (gerund phrases underlined, gerunds in italics):

Seeing is believing.

Being tired is no excuse for being late.
Orville hated flying all those stupid kites.

Gerund phrases are (relatively) easy to recognize because they can always be replaced by it, for example:

Orville hated flying all those stupid kites.

Orville hated it. (it = flying all those stupid kites)

Gerund phrases are really reduced sentences. When we retain the subject underlying the verb in the gerund, that retained subject must be made possessive. Going back to our example about Orville, suppose that what Orville really hated was that his brother flew the kites. Wilbur is the subject of the gerund flying and, as such, must now be used in the possessive form:

Orville hated Wilbur’s flying all those stupid kites.

When you are unsure whether the -s on a noun in front of an -ing verb indicates that the noun is the subject of a gerund, here is a useful technique:

The Possessive Pronoun Test for Subjects of Gerund Phrases

See if you can replace the noun phrase with an appropriate possessive pronoun. If you can, then the noun is the subject of a gerund phrase and should be made possessive. If you cannot, then the noun is not the subject of a gerund phrase, and no apostrophe should be used.

Here are some examples of the possessive pronoun test:

X The schools offering soccer is something new.
image
The school’s [or schools’] offering soccer is something new.

X The lights coming through the open window woke us up.
image
The light’s [or lights’] coming through the open window woke us up.

X We encouraged the boys taking judo.
Possessive pronoun test: We encouraged his [or their] taking judo. We encouraged the boy’s [or boys’] taking judo.

Apostrophes for Plurals of Certain Letters and Abbreviations

In rare circumstances, apostrophes indicate plurals in order to prevent confusion. Until recent years, a “plural apostrophe” could be used slightly more often, but this is no longer the case. This change is not catching on terribly well with all writers and readers, and even major style guides (such as those of the MLA and APA) are not in full agreement or do not show instances when a plural apostrophe is highly useful.

However, here is where all major style guides definitely agree: use an apostrophe to form the plural of lowercase letters, as in the following example:

How many i’s are there in Mississippi?

Without the apostrophe, it might look as if you were asking how many times the word is appears in Mississippi. Therefore, write the plural of lowercase letters with an apostrophe (the preferred form italicizes the letter itself, but not the plural s). Although most style guides do not reference the following, you should also use an apostrophe with lowercase acronyms and initialisms, as seen in the following examples (although most writers prefer to use uppercase abbreviations):

The engine smokes at high rpm’s.
He’s just learning his abc’s.

Keep in mind that abbreviations used as normal words never take a plural apostrophe—terms such as ads (advertisements) and profs (professors).

What about letters or initialisms that involve uppercase letters? Here, style guides disagree. The safe approach is to avoid the apostrophe, as seen in the following capitalized terms:

This university awards many PhDs and MBAs.
Russell made three As this last semester.
Four SUVs are parked near my car.

Another instance where reference manuals do not agree is when you use a word as a word in the plural. This is a complex issue because it includes several different types of constructions called “words as words,” but again the conservative approach is to avoid an apostrophe:

Follow orders and don’t ask too many whys.
She counted seventeen maybes in my presentation.

Many writers and readers find this recent convention awkward, so try to determine if your readers (such as a boss, teacher, or editor) allow a plural apostrophe with words used as words. You might find that older readers prefer the apostrophe. Also note that firms or agencies often have a “house style” regarding this issue.

Fortunately, there is agreement nowadays that apostrophes should be avoided in most plurals of special words and terms—particularly dates, symbols, and numbers (note that dates and numbers are usually not italicized).

That was popular in the 1920s. (Not 1920’s.)
You use too many & s in your paper. (Not &’s.)
The contestant received three perfect 10s. (Not 10’s.)

Again, there are times when readers will be confused if you strictly omit the plural apostrophe. For instance, if you write Oakland As, people unfamiliar with baseball might think the team’s nickname is As rather than As. When in doubt, do not use the plural apostrophe, but use it judiciously if leaving it out will miscommunicate.

Summary

Apostrophes serve three other functions besides possession and contraction. The most important additional function is in expressions of time, value, and measure. A helpful test in monitoring for this use of the apostrophe is the of/for paraphrase test. If you can paraphrase a time, value, or measure expression with of or for, then the expression requires an apostrophe.

The second additional use of the apostrophe is to mark the subject of gerund phrases. A useful test here is the possessive pronoun test. If you can replace the noun in question with a possessive pronoun, then the noun is the subject of a gerund phrase and requires an apostrophe.

The third function of an apostrophe is to form the plural of lowercase letters and abbreviations.