Questions tagged [apostrophe]
This tag is for questions about the usage of the apostrophe.
108
questions
1
vote
1answer
24 views
“The Sergeant over there's wife” is correct?
The sentence below is a line from the movie Inglorious Basterds.
The Sergeant over there's wife just had a baby.
Is the use of the apostrophe correct?
As this is almost my first time seeing an ...
1
vote
1answer
34 views
Two weeks' overdue
I was reading an IELTS model response from the British Council and I saw this:
Congratulations! Your little bundle of joy has arrived at last! I had heard from our friend Christie that you were two ...
0
votes
2answers
62 views
When to use 's before noun
What is the rule to solve doubts such as:
International law view vs. International law's view
Kosovo declaration of independence vs. Kosovo's declaration of
independence
I have many ...
1
vote
2answers
42 views
“Someone else's”, “Someone's else”, and “Someone else's one”
For example:
-- You should move your car out of the way.
-- This is not my car but someone else's car.
I want to get rid of the redundancy in the sentence which is presented by the second "...
1
vote
2answers
18 views
Use of possessive apostrophe with “every”
In the following sentence, can anyone tell me where the apostrophe should be placed please?
Every coders' worst nightmare
Every coder's worst nightmare
I have a feeling that the second sentence is ...
3
votes
1answer
841 views
Sister's vs. Sisters'
Question regarding the use of apostrophe/ownership in the case of twins.
Noun: The Night Sisters (who constitute a twin object).
Sentence: Mary tended John throughout the Night Sisters passing.
...
2
votes
1answer
44 views
..eating a pig's head..why not “pig head”?
In my grammar book, the following is stated:
2.5 animals
1. Use ’s when referring to the parts of the body of a living animal.
2. Use ’s when referring to the products of living animals.
3. ...
-1
votes
1answer
18 views
Where do you put an Apostrophe in this sentence
This position will play a key role in the Universities fundraising strategies.
1
vote
2answers
44 views
The Smith's paper vs the Parkinson's foundation
Following grammar rules I know (quoting):
The ’s is placed immediately after the last letter of the author (or
name, country, etc.). Note: do not use the before the name of the
author.
..
...
2
votes
2answers
99 views
Where does the apostrophe go in “participant(s) ratings”?
Which of the following sentences is correct? I'm unsure regarding the participant(s).
Figures showing the distribution of the participants' ratings on the math tasks.
Figures showing the ...
0
votes
2answers
24 views
Apostrophes and “of”
hello, I know that we cannot use "of" with names,
my book says " Tina's cat" is correct but "the cat of Tina" is not correct.
but what about the screenshot?
"the army of John Sena"
or
"the ...
1
vote
2answers
95 views
She's someone's sister vs. She's someones' sister
I recently found on a website a picture from a gathering. An individual had a sign saying She's someone's sister. As a non-native English speaker, I'm wondering why isn't She's someones' sister the ...
0
votes
1answer
80 views
Apostrophes in Time expressions with articles
Reading a book called "English for Academic Research" from A. Wallwork, he mentiones this:
The genitive is used when a time period is used adjectivally.
2. The genitive is not used when time ...
0
votes
2answers
83 views
sheep's opinion or opinion of the sheep
This is a famous game of thrones quote:
The lion does not concern himself with the opinion of the sheep.
what is the difference between this sentence and this sentence:
The lion does not ...
1
vote
2answers
31 views
“Your face looks like my sister's friend face” or “my sister's friend”?
Which sentence should I use to show that she has the same face and should I use feature instead of face?
"Your face looks like my sister's friend face"
or just
"Your face looks like my sister'...
3
votes
3answers
54 views
Parenthesis with apostrophe, how to order and how to space?
I have a very simple phrase:
I want to introduce Adam's kid
I want to insert a pair of parentheses for Adam, say, should be like this:
I want to introduce Adam (my friend)'s kid
But I'm not ...
0
votes
1answer
113 views
Where should the apostrophe go in “Cas's Cookies”?
My name is Cas and I make cookies to sell. I call my little enterprise Cas's Cookies. Is this the proper use of an apostrophe?
If I put the apostrophe after the second s then it changes my name to ...
1
vote
2answers
49 views
Professor of Botany's research - is it a weird apostrophe?
It was professor of Botany's research and not Biology's.
Can an apostrophe be used like that? Obviously, I'm talking about the research that was conducted by the professor of Botany and not Biology
...
1
vote
1answer
30 views
Girls Under 12 Champions. [closed]
Should there be an apostrophe in girls in the expression “Girls Under 12 Champions”
1
vote
2answers
34 views
Peeves’ or Peeves’s?
Why would Filch from Harry Potter 2 say: “… go now, I have to write up Peeves’ report … go …”
Would saying Peeves’s have been a mistake?
2
votes
3answers
93 views
Use of '“s” only in possession? [duplicate]
I am writing a scientific paper and I wonder if 's is only used refering to a possession.
For example, I think "bird's feathers" is a correct expression, but I wonder if "bird's exposure", meaning ...
2
votes
1answer
198 views
I'm going to the dry cleaner's - why the apostrophe S? [duplicate]
"Dave's car" means the "car of Dave".
But why do we need the apostrophe S in: I'm going to the dry cleaner's ?
Is there another way to say this phrase? For example: I'm going to the establishment ...
1
vote
1answer
33 views
What does “robbin” mean here?
Doctor Who: The Stone Rose
'What? It can't be that bad, can it? You've not been robbin' it or
something? Or you been seeing one of the girls in the gift shop and
you don't wanna tell me about ...
0
votes
2answers
95 views
Are possessive nouns with apostrophe plural?
The center's much-hyped attempt to privatise Air India by disinvesting 74 percent equity has come a cropper.
I am still not able to understand how "attempt" is considered as noun rather then verb.
...
0
votes
1answer
134 views
Genitive Case, when use apostrophe and why not allways
I'm writing an article about computer science and I have the following problems:
Is method's name the same as method name?
Is attribute’s name the same as attribute name?
Is property's name the ...
1
vote
3answers
99 views
Is it possible to form possessive just changing the order?
I saw this two examples:
The emperor of China and China's emperor.
Is it possible to say: "China emperor" without the apostrophe? I saw some examples in ficcion books, like:
The England's king ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Why is there no apostrophe in “NEW YEAR MESSAGES”?
Normally, we say
NEW YEAR's RESOLUTIONS
but when it comes to saying
NEW YEAR MESSAGES
where does that little apostrophe go from "YEAR"?
2
votes
1answer
105 views
Can 's express plural？
There's a sentence in my textbook:
My sister got A's in her final exam.
Shouldn't be As instead in this case?
Can 's also be a kind of stylish for the plural?
3
votes
1answer
157 views
Is a possessive apostrophe required after minutes in “After a few minutes' use…”?
Wondering if a possessive apostrophe is correct after 'minutes' in the sentence: "After a few minutes' use, the hairdryer stopped working."? I know it's correct to have one in the sentence "In a few ...
1
vote
1answer
40 views
Question of apostrophe
I already asked similar question in the following: meaning of plural of plural v.s. singular of plural.
For example, when I want to express crash among many cars, I used cars' crashing.
However, in ...
0
votes
1answer
24 views
Her parents gave away the prizes to our school (school's?) children
Is it all right to say :
Her parents gave away the prizes to our school children.
Or I need to add apostrophe with school ?
0
votes
1answer
332 views
People names or people's names?
Which is correct:
Of all the people names in all the world's countries, the most common is Muhammad.
Of all the people's names in all the world's countries, the most common is Muhammad.
1
vote
3answers
6k views
“This's” instead of “this is”
Is it popular to contract "this is" to "this's"? Or is it better to keep the full form?
This's where we'll go tomorrow.
Or
This is where we'll go tomorrow.
0
votes
1answer
660 views
Is apostrophe correct in teachers day?
Source
For the compound noun teachers day, some people call it teacher day and some other call it teachers' day. However, I believe that apostrophe implies possession and so as a day cannot be ...
0
votes
1answer
199 views
where does the apostrophe go in this sentence?
Where would the apostrophe go in:
'he dedicated his days to...'
Would it be days, day's or days'?
Thank you.
-3
votes
1answer
99 views
Singular / plural adjective [closed]
What is basically difference between adding a apostrophe to a singular adjective ghost like ghost's and without it like ghosts
2
votes
1answer
101 views
How to use an apostrophe for two or more names?
In this sentence:
In Fermat, Lagrange, Newton and Gauss studies [...].
Where should we put the apostrophe?
The complete sentence is here:
Besides Fermat, Lagrange, Newton and Gauss' studies ...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Where to place the 's
I have the following long sentence :
If one of those promotions has a name that matches xxx, ...
I would rather write it shortly :
If one of those' name matches xxx, ...
My question is : what ...
2
votes
1answer
414 views
Dine at our uncle's (home/house)
Is it necessary to use a noun (home/house/place/restaurant) after the word "uncle's" in this sentence?
Tomorrow, we shall dine at our uncle's.
Isn't it correct?
10
votes
7answers
6k views
“A patients guide” or “A patient's guide”?
I am working on one of my employer's websites, and we have a video guide up for patients of how a particular procedure works. The guide was previously titled "A patients guide to [X]", but I have ...
-3
votes
1answer
205 views
Where do I put an apostrophe in the word “datas”?
I'm writing a sentence: "Check the data's properties."
Is that apostrophe in the right place? Since data is a plural (of datum, right?) I wonder if it should be datas' and not data's.
Or does it ...
4
votes
1answer
351 views
Using “I's” rather than “mine”
In a sentence, if I want to say "the items of my family and I ", can I say it in this way: my family and I's items or is the correct replacement "mine". Can an explanation to why "I's" is correct or ...
1
vote
1answer
99 views
Is apostrophe is to be put or not: “it will be sent to your address as an official representative'(?)s”?
I was writing an e-mail and stuck on this part:
"...a certificate will be sent to your address as the local representative’s."
I have doubts about the apostrophe. Actually I did sent e-mail ...
4
votes
2answers
721 views
Genitive s for objects [duplicate]
If you say the aim of Ben, you can also say Ben's aim.
If you say the objective of the project (which is not a person but an object), do you say the project's objective or the projects objective?
8
votes
3answers
2k views
When can't we shorten It is to It's
I have noticed that in some cases people write it is while in others it's. And in some cases you just cannot write it's.
Is that your book over there? Maybe it is.
It's a beautiful flower. Yes, it is,...
1
vote
2answers
160 views
Why are apostrophes used when omitting letters in words like “'em” or “ridin'”?
The apostrophe in English is a very valuable sign. I want to know about the way it is used to omit letters of a word. I often see authors omitting letters in dialogues (in books, articles, blogs, ...
2
votes
1answer
487 views
How to pronounce “two boys' families”?
How to pronounce "two boys' families"?
"two boyses family" or
"two boys families"?
4
votes
1answer
602 views
Can a possessive S be attached to nouns that are not human beings (or animals)?
Can a possessive S be attached to nouns that are not human beings (or animals)?
For example, instead of saying "the back of the chair", can I say "the chair's back"?
I remember learning that not ...
2
votes
2answers
401 views
Apostrophe for possession in decades?
Do you use an apostrophe for possession in decades--not for plurals, just possession, as in "a 1960s style," that is, "a style of the 1960s"?
0
votes
2answers
109 views
Pluralization of an Plural Proper Noun (Organization)
I work for the University of Southern California's USC Games department.
How would I indicate possessive ownership of items belonging to that department.
Is
USC Games' student developers
...
