Tagged Questions
-1
votes
1answer
260 views
Apostrophes and s's [duplicate]
I always forget the rule about if something is possessive put 's at the end, for example "the sailor's hat". I know some people say to remember because it has a different meaning if it's plural (e.g. ...
0
votes
0answers
98 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
322 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:
...
0
votes
2answers
177 views
“Boys bicycle” vs. “boy's bicycle” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
User’s Guide vs Users’ Guide
When describing, for example, a bicycle for boys as "a boys bicycle", should it be "boy's" or "boys"? The phrase is not implying ownership ...
9
votes
2answers
811 views
Apostrophes in contractions: shan't, sha'n't or sha'nt?
I came across the word sha'n't when reading Winnie the Pooh the other day and it cast me into a Thoughtful Mood concerning the Appropriate Spelling of this word.
This word is a contraction of "shall ...
5
votes
4answers
335 views
Usage of apostrophe in “baker’s dozen”
In the phrase “baker’s dozen”, why does the apostrophe indicate possession of a (single) baker? Shouldn't it indicate possession of all bakers in general? Shouldn’t it be “bakers’ dozen”?
1
vote
1answer
134 views
Spelling: “You +1'd this”
Can you please elaborate in detail as to why there is an apostrophe d after the +1?
5
votes
3answers
156 views
Is “ O’Leary’s’s ” orthographically correct? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Possessive of a word that's already possessive?
There’s a bar near me named O’Leary’s Irish Pub—or just O’Leary’s for short. One day, they changed their menu. I ...
22
votes
7answers
6k views
Plurals of acronyms, letters, numbers — use an apostrophe or not?
When I was in high school back in the 1970s, I was taught that to make a plural of an acronym, a letter, or a number, one should add an apostrophe and "s". Like I would have written this sentence, ...
0
votes
1answer
117 views
Pluralizing acronyms: how to? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?
Let's say we're talking about PLCs (programmable logic controllers)? Or are they "PLC's"? I've seen it both ways!
1
vote
1answer
4k views
“'n'” as an abbreviation for “and” as in “rock 'n' roll”
I wonder if there are other cases where and is abbreviated in writing as in rock 'n' roll.
5
votes
9answers
1k views
Just how important are grammar and spelling?
A blog post of mine made it on the Hacker News front page. My blog post was mainly intended for a very, very small audience, but ended up getting around 20,000 views in one day. The most talked about ...
12
votes
4answers
574 views
Why did they spell it “URL’s”?
I was reading this documentation file of some software and note the plural spelling of this abbreviation is “URL’s”. Why isn’t it “URLs”?
1
vote
3answers
11k views
How do you write “a class's constructor”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in s?
I want to write this sentence:
In a singleton pattern, a class's
constructor needs to be private
instead of ...
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 ...
7
votes
4answers
6k views
What is the possessive of “you guys”?
Most people seem to stumble over this. The problem can arise with any multi-word phrase that needs a possessive but ends in S, and so sounds awkward using the clitic apostrophe-S. I've heard this ...
6
votes
1answer
185 views
“Dawkins'” or “Dawkins's” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When did it become correct to add an 's' to a singular possessive already ending in 's'?
I learned from school to use Dawkins', for example
That is ...
11
votes
4answers
1k views
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 ...
17
votes
3answers
843 views
Possessive of a word that is already possessive
If the cricket ground Lord's is a possessive, what if you want to describe something belonging to Lord's? Would you say "I was very impressed by Lord's's customer services"?
It doesn't look right, ...
3
votes
2answers
755 views
“Each person's car” vs. “each persons' car”
Which of the following is correct?
Each person's car has four wheels.
Each persons' car has four wheels.
