Apostrophes are flooding the market – and mostly in all the wrong places. Old time teachers of English grammar must be turning over in their graves.
Even some writers and editors seem unaware of the proper use of apostrophes. Our print society, sign makers, headline writers, and probably e-mailers show in their products that they are generally oblivious of the rules for the correct use of apostrophes.
These rules are not very complicated, yet misuse is rampant.
Of course exceptions exist but, in general, proper usage says that: An apostrophe is used to show possession. Thus, to show that the clothes belonged to the girl, one writes: The girl’s clothes. If the clothes belonged to two girls, one should write: The girls’ clothes.
When a singular word is made plural, no apostrophe is needed. For example, girl is singular and girls is the plural. One girl went to school, and two girls went to work. No apostrophe is used for the plural form of girl.
Here are just a few mistakes seen recently:
- *”The next room shows some photos of the house when the Grant’s were in the residence.” Grants is the plural of Grant and thus should have no apostrophe. From “A Walking Tour of the Grant-Humphreys Mansion.” Denver, CO.
- *The coordinator’s of this project decided .” Coordinators is the plural of coordinator and needs no apostrophe. From a personal email.
- *”Gowns for mom’s” – again, moms is the plural of mom. “Gowns for the mother’s” – If this had been referring to something about a single mother, such as gowns for the mother’s use or gowns for the mother’s approval, the apostrophe would have been correctly placed. However, again, mothers here is the plural of mother and thus should have no apostrophe.
- *Bunny Williams, a reigning star among New York society decorators, who works with financiers, C.E.O.’s and blue bloods (but not, she makes a point of saying, movie stars), has a new book, “Bunny Williams’ Point of View.” Again, CEOs is the plural of CEO, and thus needs no apostrophe. Pg. 1 of the House and Garden section of the New York Times, Oct. 18, 2007. Can Taste Be Taught? by Joyce Wadler.
- *”Cold Spring has become a mecca for antique lover’s .”
6. “No hopeful’s in front as voters hang back.” Hopefuls, which refers to presidential candidates here, is the plural and thus needs no apostrophe.The Sunday Denver Post, pg. 1, November 25, 2007.
- *And here’s a humdinger from an email ad for a liquor store: “Now open Sunday’s for your convenience”
Another apostrophe rule is the use of an apostrophe when a letter has been omitted, as in wasn’t. In this case, the “o” of “not” was omitted when was and not were linked to form a contraction. Other examples of the correct use of the apostrophe to stand in for a missing letter include didn’t, hasn’t, couldn’t, and it’s. In the latter example, the apostrophe is standing in for the “i” of is that is not used.
It’s/its seems to be a particularly confusing case for many people. Remember that the apostrophe should be used to show that the letter “i” is omitted. Examples would be “It’s cold today.” The apostrophe is there used to take the space of the “i” that is omitted when the words “it is” have been shortened to “it’s.”
A common mistake is to put an apostrophe in the word it’s to show possession; this is not accurate. The apostrophe should be used in the word “it’s” only to show that the letter “i” has been omitted. Thus, in the following sentence, there is no apostrophe in the word its: Its soft texture made the chair very comfortable.
So, when you go to your doctor’s office, ask if it’s okay to take your meds twice a day and if its color is really supposed to be blue.
Watch your apostrophes lest they come out in the wrong places. It’s a shame when they do.
Joan A. Baronberg lives in Denver. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
