Questions relating to the use of the apostrophe (’).
Questions tagged [apostrophe]
591 questions
13
votes
1 answer
Else's or Elses' or Elses
In the statement:
In life, try to often make yourself a minor character in someone elses novel.
where - if anywhere - does the apostrophe go?
Daniel Stowers
- 384
9
votes
2 answers
Is "'em" short for 'him', 'them' or both?
I know that the apostrophe can be used to denote the omission of letters in a word, so I'm wondering then if 'em can be used to denote the colloquial shorthand for him, or if it would be more proper to use 'im (and that 'em is really just shorthand…
Dodgie
- 997
7
votes
4 answers
Does the Oakland Athletics logo misuse the apostrophe?
For years I have thought the Oakland Athletics baseball team has misused the apostrophe. I've always thought the "A" is an abbreviation for "Athletic" and the "s" makes "Athletic" plural. Is my thinking correct?
If not, why is "A's" an acceptable…
Travis Pflanz
- 181
- 1
- 7
5
votes
2 answers
Possessive nouns, the apostrophe, and no 'S'
I was watching an episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. It's an American show hosted by an Englishman.
He displayed a paragraph of text during the show which read, "The Bad Boys Club' T-shirt."
I am confused. The club is called The Bad…
Daniel Ford
- 51
- 4
4
votes
3 answers
How should I pluralize MSDS?
Should MSDS be pluralized with an s? My initial reaction is to say No, because MSDS indicates it could be plural or singular — it stands for “Material Safety Data Sheets”.
Sam Mercier
- 41
3
votes
1 answer
Apostrophe usage on proper nouns already having one
Possible Duplicate:
Possessive of a word that's already possessive?
There is a famous pizza restaurant named "Domino's". In our city their rivals accept vouchers issued by Domino's. The sign reads "We accept all Domino's vouchers". Given that the…
Joe Fawcett
- 591
3
votes
2 answers
"Guys", "guy’s", or "guys’" (guys’)
Which way is guys written in this sentence: "What are your guys favorite cars"? Should the word guys be written as guys, guy's, or guys' in this sentence?
Brian
- 39
3
votes
2 answers
Use of apostrophes
Should it read "The contractor shall provide details of the companies ability with regard to resources" or "The contractor shall provide details of the companys ability with regard to resources"? Is there a need for an apostrophe here?
user5618
2
votes
1 answer
Apostrophe after Proper Noun ending with s
Possible Duplicate:
What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in s?
When did it become correct to add an 's' to a singular possessive already ending in 's'?
Today's Newyorker News Desk says Texas's insurgent establishment.
Is Texas's…
Essen
- 29
2
votes
2 answers
Individual's or individuals'
in the following sentence: The same holds true for children who suffer from the disabling effects of childhood trauma. However, additional interventions targeting individual's needs will often be necessary"
Do I use individual's or individuals'?
Marieke
- 21
2
votes
3 answers
When does the word 'months' get an apostrophe?
Is it '12 month's remuneration', '12 months' remuneration' or '12 months remuneration'? New Oxford Style Manual says it does not get an apostrophe is not used in 'adjectival constructions' e.g. three months pregnant. Confused.
Teegs247
- 21
2
votes
3 answers
The use of the apostrophe is equivalent in these phrases?
This is the house of John / This is John's house
Are they equivalent?
Felipe Carvalho
- 41
- 2
2
votes
1 answer
Apostrophe usage for vehicle name
This is the context:
'The 21h00 draw features two Suzuki Ignis up for grabs.'
I don't know whether it's Ignis', Ignis's or just Ignis
Thank you.
2
votes
1 answer
Is ‘round’ without an apostrophe wrong in these cases?
Sometimes the word around turns into round, e.g., in the following sentence:
They were going round and round in a circle.
Shouldn’t you put an apostrophe before round in such cases, from the standpoint of English orthography (i.e. the rule that…
Michael Smith
- 366
2
votes
1 answer
Should you use apostrophe s for "No man's land" if it really belongs to no man?
When talking about "No man's land" if the land belongs to no man, then should you use an apostrophe s?
Johnston
- 273