GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION
Apostrophes
Singular Common Nouns Ending in S Add an ‘s unless the next word begins in s .
Plural Nouns Not Ending in S
The hostess’s invitation
n
The alumni’s contributions
n
The hostess’ seat
n
Women’s rights
n
The witness’s answer
n
Plural Nouns Ending in S Only add an apostrophe.
The witness’ story
n
Singular Proper Names Ending in S Only add an apostrophe.
The churches’ needs
n
The girls’ toys
Achilles’ heel
n
n
Descartes’ theories
n
Nouns Plural in Form, Singular in Meaning Only add an apostrophe.
Kansas’ schools
n
Pronouns Do not use an apostrophe with the following pronouns:
Mathematics’ rules
n
Measles’ effects
n
Apply the same principle when a plural word occurs in the formal name of a singular entity.
Mine
Ours
n
n
Your
Yours
n
n
General Motors’ profits
n
Its
His
n
n
The United States’ wealth
n
Hers
Theirs
n
n
Nouns the Same in Singular and Plural Treat them the same as plurals, even if the meaning is singular.
Whose
n
Quasi Possessives
One corps’ location
n
A day’s pay
n
The two deer’s tracks
n
Two weeks’ pay
n
The lone moose’s antlers
n
Your money’s worth
n
Singular Nouns Not Ending in S
Descriptive Phrases Do not add an apostrophe to a word ending in s when it is used primarily in a descriptive sense. Do not add an apostrophe to City of Irvine within event titles or when used in a descriptive sense.
The church’s needs
n
The girl’s toys
n
The horse’s food
n
The VIP’s seat
n
5
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator