Quick Guide to Apostrophes and Plurals

1. AP style More punctuation: apostrophes and plurals (part 1)

2. Quick tip on apostrophes • Just because a word ends in s, that doesn’t mean it ends in ’s. • For example: The Northpoint boy’s basketball team beat Hillville 78-72 Tuesday night. • How many boys are on the team in the example?

3. Words that do and don’t end in s • Plural nouns not ending in s: add ’s.- The alumni’s contribution; women’s rights. • Singular nouns not ending in s: add ’s.- The church’s needs; the girl’s toys; the horse’s food; the VIP’s seat. • Singular common nouns ending in s: add ’s unless the next word begins with s- The hostess’s invitation; the hostess’ seat- The witness’s answer; the witness’ story

4. Both singular and plural • For nouns that are plural in form, but singular, add only an apostrophe.- Mathematics’ rules; General Motors’ profits; the United States’ wealth. • Nouns that are same singular and plural: Treat the same as plurals.- One corps’ location. The two deer’s tracks.

5. Names • Singular proper names ending in s: Use an apostrophe- Achilles’ heel- Agnes’ book- Dickens’ novels- Jesus’ life- Moses law • Exception: St. James’s Palace

6. Pronouns • No apostrophe with these: mine, ours, your, yours, his, hers, its, theirs, whose • Contractions: double check apostrophe by saying the word out.- It’s = it is. They’re = they are. There’s = there is

7. Compound words • Add an apostrophe or ‘s to the word closest to the object possessed. • The major general’s decision. The major generals’ decisions. The attorney general’s request. The attorneys general’s request. • Anyone else’s attitude. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania’s motion. Or: The motion by Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania

8. Joint and individual possession • Use a possessive form after only the last word if ownership is joint:- Fred and Sylvia’s apartment. • Use the possessive form after both words if the objects are individually owned:- Fred’s and Sylvia’s books.

9. Descriptive phrases • Do not add an apostrophe to a word ending in s when it is used in a descriptive sense- citizens band radio; a teachers college; Detroit Tigers pitchers; a Teamsters request • An ’s is required when the term is plural but does not end in s- a children’s hospital; a people’s republic; the Young Men’s Christian Association

10. Descriptive names • Some governmental, corporate and institutional groups use an apostrophe in their name, some do not. Follow the user’s practice:- Actors’ Equity; Diners Club; The Ladies’ Home Journal; the National Governors Association • See the separate entries for each group to find out what to use

11. Quasi possessives • Same as the rules on previous slides:- A day’s work. Two weeks’ vacation. Three days’ work. • Hyphenated form may be clearer:- A two-week vacation, a three-day job.

12. Omitted letters • It is OK to use contractions, but avoid excessive use of them. Those listed in the dictionary are OK. • Remember, say both words out if you aren’t sure if it’s (it is) the correct usage. • I’ve, it’s, don’t, rock ’n’ roll; ’tis the season • Omitted figures: The class of ’6o is holding its 50th reunion. The ‘80s were an awful time for music.

13. Plurals of a single letter • Mind your p’s and q’s. He learned the three R’s and brought home a report card with four A’s and two B’s. • The Oakland A’s won their division.

14. Plurals • Most words, add an s: boy, boys. • Words ending in ch, s, sh, ss, x and z: add es- Churches, lenses, boxes. Except monarchs. • Words ending in is: Change to an es- Oasis, oases. Parenthesis, parentheses. • Words ending in f: in general, change the f to v and add es: Leaf, leaves. Self, selves. Roof, roofs is an exception.

15. Plurals, continued • Words ending in y: If y is preceded by a consonant or qu, change y to i and add es:Army, armies. Soliloquy, soliloquies. • Words ending in o: If o is preceded by a consonant, most plurals require es: buffalo, buffaloes; hero, heroes.- There are exceptions: piano, pianos. Check individual entries in the book for exceptions.

16. Form change • Man, men • Child, children • Foot, feet • Mouse, mice • When s is used with any of these words, it indicates possession. Therefore, it must have an ’s: men’s store, children’s workshop.

17. Questions?