Tagged Questions
2
votes
2answers
144 views
What’s the word for the habit of writing “play’d” or “revolv’d”?
I’m working on an 18th-century manuscript, and I’m trying to explain to others the use of ’d in past tense verbs.
Is there a word that encompasses the usage of ’d in early 18th-century manuscripts? ...
0
votes
0answers
97 views
Why are apostrophes so important? [closed]
Why are apostrophes so important? Where did they come from? Wouldn't it be better to just get rid of them altogether?
10
votes
3answers
320 views
Where did the practice of using apostrophes for possessive nouns but not pronouns originate?
Where did the practice of using apostrophes for possessive nouns but not pronouns originate?
For example, possessive nouns (both proper and common) are written with a apostrophe before the final s:
...
13
votes
2answers
618 views
Why is there a distinction between “its” and “it's”?
While I know technically the English language has a distinction because when there's a conflict between the possessive form and a contraction, the contraction wins. That is:
Its is the possessive ...
8
votes
1answer
602 views
How did an apostrophe plus the letter “s” come to indicate possession? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Origins of possessive pronouns
How did English come to use "apostrophe s" to indicate possession, when it seems to me that few (if any!) other languages do (or do ...
35
votes
6answers
2k views
When did it become correct to add an “s” to a singular possessive already ending in “‑s”?
According to my grammar book, but at variance to the answer to this question, the correct singular possessive if a word ends in ‑s is:
James’s car
The grammar book allows exceptions for ...
