People are so freaked out about apostrophes that they misuse them: here, just because a noun has a terminal -s, the writer adds an apostrophe! "No Dogs" is simply the subject of the sentence ... and "Guide Dogs" the object of the preposition except. What the heck is that comma doing in Toilets?
There’s been a heated discussion lately, in a LinkedIn group I belong to, about the fate of the apostrophe. As in people’s right to know, a dime’s worth, the Wentworths’ property taxes.
Other languages have the possessive case, of course, but don’t have the apostrophe. Is it an atavism, a useless carry-over from a fussier age, a tax that grammarians impose on the ignorant (as the lottery is a tax on the mathematically challenged)?
Yes and no, I think, to all the above.
The apostrophe originated in 18th century England, at a time when grammar and spelling were being standardized. The appearance of this mark, in fact, seems to be based on a false assumption. Anglo-Saxon, the language of early England, had no such mark, but simply added an -s to a word to indicate possession. (This is the same tactic that German uses today: der Mannes Hut [the man's hat], das Weibchens Dirndl [the woman's skirt]). But, for better or worse, for the time being, we are stuck with the apostrophe to indicate possession (as well as contraction), and to omit the apostrophe is to court a low opinion among grammarians and other careful literate folk.
And as long as we’re observing these sorts of things (are observant grammarians, like observant Jews, say — and belong to a conservative tradition), let’s rehearse the basic rules.
Possessive singular
- To form the possessive singular of most nouns, simply add ‘s:
- John’s hat
- Mary’s blanket
- the cat’s meow
- If a noun ends in s or x or z, you can add just an apostrophe or the apostrophe plus s, depending on which sounds better or which is established usage:
- Xerxes’ armies
- jazz’s beginnings
- asbestos’s dangers
Possessive plural
- To form the possessive plural of regular nouns, which end in s, simply add the apostrophe:
- the animals’ behavior [more than one animal]
- the monsoons’ predicted course [more than one monsoon]
- the foundations’ pleas [more than one foundation is pleading]
- the Joneses’ absurd pretenses
- the Swansons’ property rights
- To form the possessive plural of irregular nouns, those not ending in s, add the apostrophe plus s:
- the men’s demands
- the women’s taste in fashion
- the children’s story hour
Questions, comments? Please ask or comment below.