There are numerous blogs about grammar available if you poke around. Sometimes to indicate the structure of unusual words. Aug 10, 20 apostrophe rules english grammar lesson to improve writings skills punctuation marks duration. Apostrophes and plurals grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Ap has a couple of exceptions to the general rules. More information on apostrophes with names can be found in our post apostrophes with names ending in s, ch, or z. Jul 24, 2019 an apostrophe is a mark of punctuation used to identify a noun in the possessive case or indicate the omission of one or more letters from a word. A phenomenon named grammar girl outlines 9 ways to use an apostrophe but left me unclear whether its a girls school or girls school. With regard to decades expressed in numerals rather than spelled out in letters, some style guides recommend omitting an apostrophe, while others recommend including it. This is covered obliquely in the possessives and sibilants post, but its worth addressing directly for greater clarity. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language. Its probably out there it is the internet, after all, but in any case, if i want to reference, in a single sentence, both the title of a book series as well as one of the books in the series, what are the rules.
When you consider apostrophes, the first word that probably comes to mind is possessive because our gradeschool teachers taught us that apostrophes make things possessivemore specifically, apostrophes make nouns possessive. The history of the apostrophe grammar girl quick and dirty tips. In this capacity it has been dubbed the grocer s or the greengrocer s apostrophe. At last, a book that tells you exactly where to stick your. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. But just remember, in the case of its and its, an apostrophe is not needed for the possessive. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better. For decades the nations pedants have sighed and tutted over the socalled greengrocers apostrophe the one you find on piles of fruit and vegetables advertising the fact that apples and bananas are for sale by the pound or kilo when no apostrophe is required to complete the plural. Admittedly, trouble arises with certain other kinds of nouns. Oct 22, 2009 to show plural possession, always make the noun plural first, then use the apostrophe.
Apostrophes are one of the more confounding punctuation marks. Except in the case possession, apostrophes are used to replace a letter. Grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar and. Posted on march 16, 2008 by writers relief staff 28. There is just no reason to put an apostrophe when referring to a decade. No specific source except every english grammar text book. Please let me know what is correct for each of the following. There are different schools of thought about years and decades. Filled with funny illustrations, this book helps you understand the importance of using this symbol while writing. Keep this in mind, especially when you are writing about specific decades. For instance, to show possession with singular nouns that dont end in s, all you have to do is add s girl s. Girls the possessive plural, as in the girls purses all were black. The apostrophe is a punctuation mark used to mark omissions and. While that may sound simple enough, many people are baffled by the little squiggle.
We use apostrophes to write about oprahs new recommendation, j. How to use apostrophes in decades its 80s, not 80s. Apostrophe rules english grammar lesson to improve writings skills punctuation marks duration. I want to avoid having incorrect signage installed, especially in a school. Forming possessives of words ending in s or an s sound by karen yin 9 comments im going to focus on the difference between how the associated press stylebook and the chicago manual of style handle possessives for words ending in s or an s sound. If its just one, then its girl s night out but if its more than one girl then its girls night out. The girl s like spaghetti is a book telling you the uses of using an apostrophe. My answer focuses on the header question about decadeswhich is the question that most readers will probably expect to find answers to here.
I understood that making text entities with nonletter characters into a plural form, you separate the s from the term with an apostrophe 1900s, jones, smiths, or bang. Dec 04, 2015 at last, a book that tells you exactly where to stick your apostrophe david marsh simon griffins irreverent pocketsized guide to a tricky piece of punctuation is the perfect stocking filler. If only apostrophe errors were confined to market stalls. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller. A phenomenon named grammar girl outlines 9 ways to use an apostrophe but left me. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better. The fact is that the use of an apostrophe for decades is insanely wrong. There werent a whole lot of actual writing tips, with the exception of a short chapter near. Several decades ago you would write 1950s with the apostrophe. In a sentence such as the teacher preferred the girl. Its annoying enough when people forget apostrophes, but how could it possibly get more annoying than when people put apostrophes.
Apostrophes are a lot easier for those who slow down and do what it takes to get them right. One of the most common questions i get is how to make a word like kansas possessive. In english you can use contractions to shorten a word by removing one letter or more and substituting an apostrophe in the same spot. Apostrophes punctuation rules blue book of grammar.
Apostrophe rules exercise write the correct form of the words in the boxes below. This is not just a style question like, say, the difference between 19 thcentury books and nineteenthcentury books. Is an apostrophe with a decade e apostrophe decades grammar girl guide. If you search for signs with grammar errors online, most of the results.
The adelaide phone book has a list headed schoolsgirls. A common mistake people make is to include apostrophes when pluralizing a number or an abbreviation. But just remember, in the case of its and its, an apostrophe. For singular words that end in s, we add apostrophe sfrancess mother, the classs pet hamster. It is very common not to use an apostrophe even when the decade is written in full.
Apostrophes and false possessives in english, nouns become adjectives all the time. You can lose a lot of credibility in your writing by failing to grasp the correct usage of apostrophes. The fact is that the use of an apostrophe for decades. By contrast, when two or more nouns separately possess something, add an apostrophe. It was common in the masculine and neuter genitive cases, the kings book,for example. To show plural possession, make the noun plural first. Books that have been in print before are given a digital future, alongside new titles from some of the worlds best writers. Apostrophe s rules as possessive s and as contracted ishas exercise decide what it stands for. Sep 27, 2018 theyre one of the most commonly used marks in all of punctuation and grammar, but youd be surprised by how few people actually know the proper way to use them. This lessons task is to help you learn about possessives and contractions that need apostrophes and plurals that dont. It was common in the masculine and neuter genitive cases, the kings book. English is a mess in this respect, which pretty much gives you a free hand to write it in any way you choose.
Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. There are two reasons to use an apostrophe in english. The normal rule when forming a plural noun is to add an s to the end. For example, the apostrophe in the phrase 1920s music would imply that you are referring to music that was composed, published, recorded, or popular during the decade which begins with the year 1920. Apostrophes with words ending in s grammar and punctuation. In february 2014, a new edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation will be issued. A more accurate title would probably be grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better grammar. Mostly, folks overcorrect by using its inappropriately. For example, the apostrophe in the phrase 1920s music would imply that you are referring to music that was composed, published, recorded, or popular during the decade. I typically dont use an apostrophe with plurals in any situation, but i always assumed that the use of an apostrophe in constructions like acronyms. How to use apostrophes to form contractions dummies.
Apostrophes with names ending in y grammar and punctuation. When to form a plural with an apostrophe daily writing tips. Learn when to use commas, when to use apostrophes, and whether its naughts or. This reader wants to know why we write 1980s and not 1980s. The lettereating tiny elf named apostrophe uses his powers to gift characters with possessions in this clever minibook that teaches about punctuation.
If numerals are used to identify decades, the 30s is widely used, but you will. One major new use for the apostrophe was to indicate possession. Do you use an apostrophe for abbreviating decades like the. Edward and madeleines books the books belong to both edward and madeleine one exception to this rule occurs if one of the owners is identified by a pronoun. There isnt a right or wrong answer, but i can help you decide which is best for you. Here are some of the most common ways to use apostrophesand some interesting rare cases. Learn english with lets talk free english lessons 70,293 views. In this interview about his book bad english, ammon shea explains the. If you want to refer to a whole decade, for example if you want to. It is acceptable to spell out a decade span and to abbreviate a decade span on second reference. Originally written as advice by a copywriter for designers wont to insert and remove apostrophes.
The apostrophe is quite possibly the most commonly misunderstood punctuation mark in the english language. For plurals that end in s, we just add the apostrophethe babies mothers, the dogs owners, the beatles songs. Using an apostrophe at all indicates possession, and you are trying to show possession. Lynne truss wrote this book with a little bit of humor. Also, i called someone a cipher, and my husband didnt know what that meant. Just fyi, i learned in school in the us, mideighties that one should use an apostrophe when pluralizing decades or letters, and its the method i continue to use now. Keep this in mind, especially when you are writing about specific decades, such as the 60s or the 90s. The normal rule when forming a possessive with a noun is to add an apostrophe. The missing letters, represented by the apostrophe. New york times bestselling author mignon fogarty shares her weekly grammar girl podcast and video tips about english, grammar, and writing. Some people thought it was a mark of elision, so the kings book was a shortening of the king his book. When abbreviating a decade span, put an apostrophe. Note that the names of decades are usually written without apostrophes. Apostrophe books is a new epublishing company that combines the high standards of old media with the cuttingedge technology of new media.
For example, the aardvarks pencil, where there is an apostrophes at the end of aardvark. The internet has extensive debate about apostrophes. Most writers nowadays favor the 1900s, but some go with the 1900s. Aug 08, 2019 mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing.
In the second example, take note of the apostrophe at the beginning of twas. Dont use apostrophes for plural abbreviations or decades. Why are there so many apostrophes in scifi and fantasy names. By contrast, when two or more nouns separately possess something, add an apostrophe to each noun listed. They can be instructive, amusing, helpful, or hysterically funny.
To show possession with a singular noun, add an apostrophe plus the letter s. The book, common sense or more specifically the authorship of the book, belongs equally to lederer and shore, so only the second name, shore, takes the apostrophe and s. A portion of rule 1, apostrophes, will state, many common nouns end in the letter s lens. My head is spinning trying to remember and apply all the apostrophe rules that i learned 30 years ago. Apostrophes are generally used in contractions and to indicate the possessive case, but they are not used to form plurals of numbers and abbreviations in apa style. Google search commonly, but not always, gives girls schools, apostrophe after the s. Actually, enough is too much, but im not going to let it bug me into the 20s. For instance, to show possession with singular nouns that dont end in s, all you have to do is add s girls, farms, loves. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. Aug 12, 2019 mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. For example, instead of writing cannot, we sometimes write cant. When trying to indicate that something belongs to a particular decade, you may use the apostrophe to indicate possession. Its i often see people crisscross the uses of these words.
Pluralize numbers and abbreviations without apostrophes. When abbreviating a decade span, put an apostrophe before the numbers facing the correct way but not before the s. A hilarious, furious and profoundly useful short guide to the most maddening punctuation in english apostrophes are an fing pain. I bring it up because i see apostrophe abuse way too much and ive decided that enough is enough. Nov 04, 2010 the punctuation mark is called apostrophe. Girl s the possesive singular, as in the girl s bike was new. Some people think that what the apostrophe is doing is going back to our old english roots. Test your understanding of apostrophes in this quiz. The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format.
I typically dont use an apostrophe with plurals in any situation, but i always assumed that the use of an apostrophe in. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards. Test your understanding of apostrophes quiz proprofs quiz. Girls, girls or girls apostrophes and girls investigator magazine. The 9 best funny and helpful blogs about grammar the. One of the definitions of an apostrophe is that it is a symbol that can be used to represent either missing numbers or letters. Forming possessives of words ending in s or an s sound by karen yin 9 comments im going to focus on the difference between how the associated press stylebook and the. Buy our book smashing grammar 2019 written by the founder of grammar monster, smashing grammar includes a glossary of grammar essentials from apostrophes to zeugma and a. Girl s locker room or girls locker room a locker room for a class or group of girls. It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice.
Learn when to use commas, when to use apostrophes, and whether its naughts or aughts. If there are more than one errors, separate corrected words with a space and a hyphen as in the examples. Apostrophes and false possessives grammar and punctuation. For example, chop wi out of i will, throw in an apostrophe, and you have ill. Students practice what theyve learned at the end of the book. The rules about how to use them are complicated, and have evolved haphazardly. If i say the 1980s popular cluture, and i am referring to the whole decade, do i need an apostrophe. The english apostrophe s and s apostrophe cause a lot of problems, even for native speakers.
The possessive is much a looser concept than ownership. Apr 28, 2017 ever wonder how to use apostrophes in decades. However, allgirls school s mostly appears without an apostrophe. Apostrophes that fall at the very beginning of a contraction are often mistyped as lefthand single quotation marks.
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