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Put Apostrophes in their Place – A Simple Rule That Works Every Time!
by Nick Daws
It’s one of those matters that cause endless confusion, and even experienced writers and editors don’t always get it right – the question of where to place the apostrophe in expressions showing possession.
Most people know that in any phrase denoting ownership, an apostrophe is required: the Johnsons’ house, the cat’s tail, a driver’s license, and so on. Apostrophes are even required with inanimate nouns, such as the table’s legs, the car’s wheels, and so forth. But when it comes to putting the apostrophe in the right place, people often slip up.
So I’d like to share with you a very simple trick that was taught to me by my old English teacher, Mr Sanders. Simply rewrite the expression using the word ‘of’. The apostrophe then goes after the final letter in the rewritten version.
Take an expression such as ‘the girl’s room’. Following Mr Sanders’ rule, if you were talking about one girl, the rewritten version would be ‘the room of the girl’. The final letter is an ‘l’, so the test shows that this expression should be written ‘the girl’s room’.
But if you are talking about two or more girls, the rewritten version with ‘of’ would be ‘the room of the girls’ – so in that case the apostrophe should go after the ‘s’ in the shortened version. It would be ‘the girls’ room’, therefore.
Unusually in English, where every grammatical rule seems to be hedged around with exceptions, this one works 100% of the time. It even works with unusual plurals such as children (children’s hospital), women (women’s clothes) and people (the people’s choice).
So the next time you’re confused as to where the apostrophe in a possessive term should go, rewrite it using ‘of’ and put the apostrophe after the final letter in the rewritten version. Then congratulate yourself on a job done well and, if you’re so inclined, drink a toast in honour of Mr Sanders!
About the Author
Nick Daws is a professional freelance writer, editor and writing teacher. He is the author of ‘Essential English for Authors’, a downloadable guide for anyone who wants to bring their English up to a publishable standard in the shortest possible time. For more information, visit his homepage at www.nickdaws.co.uk, or see his blog at www.mywritingblog.com.
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