Student Assistance

Punctuation Marks     Part 3

7.  Apostrophe

An apostrophe is a signal telling the reader that a word is either a possessive or a contraction.

1) To Form Contractions

As you know, a contraction is simply two words collapsed into one. You use contractions most often in informal or personal types of writing but usually not in more formal types. When you speak, you use contractions every day. Here are some common contractions:

cannot --> can’t
will not --> won’t
do not --> don’t
we are --> we’re
it is --> it’s
you are --> you’re

The apostrophe in the contractions above tells the reader that you have omitted a letter or two from the word — the letter o in three of the cases above. Undoubtedly, you have already mastered contractions, so we won’t go into detail. However, we will mention one common mistake. Remember that the apostrophe marks the missing letter. Don’t make the common mistake of placing the apostrophe between the two words, such as in these cases: should’nt, do’nt, etc.

2) To Form Possessives

The apostrophe is also used to mark the possessive. The possessive tells the reader that someone or something owns or possesses the thing that comes after the possessive. Here are five examples:

Ronni’s word processor
the banker’s log book
the bank’s holdings
the nation’s GNP
the year’s end

The possessive noun in each of the examples above (Ronni’s, banker’s, bank’s, nation’s, year’s) indicates to the reader that something is owned by something or someone else. In most cases, to make the possessive you simply add an ’s to the end of the noun. This is quite easy. The problem arises when a noun is both plural and possessive. Certainly, there can be more than one Ronni, and they both can own the word processor. Or more than one banker can own the log book. In such cases, you simply place the apostrophe after rather than before the s:

Ronnis’
bankers’
banks’
nations’

Some writers become confused when they must make a possessive of singular nouns that already end in s. As usual, you make the possessive by adding ’s to the word; however, some writers and editors argue that the two s’ are redundant and that therefore you can eliminate the second s, ending up with the s’. That is, they argue that there is really no need to include an s after the apostrophe, since the apostrophe already tells readers that the word is possessive. Others argue that you should drop the final s only on words of several syllables but retain it on short words. Since there is no agreement on this difficult problem, you must make your own choice. However, regardless of which option you choose, do remember to be consistent. Here are three nouns which already end in s and their corresponding possessive forms:

James	James’s	James’
Jones	Jones’s	Jones’
class	class’	class’

Finally, the apostrophe is used in one other way. Although the apostrophe is never used to make a word plural, it is used to make letters and numerals plural:

Although I received C’s and D’s in many of my college classes, I always received A’s in my business classes.

My sister received straight A’s throughout her college career.

My score sheet showed that I had six 5’s and three 4’s.

The apostrophe is a raised comma ( ' ). It is used for two different reasons: to indicate the possessive case and contractions.

Contractions: One of the purposes of the apostrophe is to show that one or more letters have been left out. This happens most often with commonly contracted forms. A few examples are:

it is	F	it’s
did not	F	didn’t
can not	F	can’t
shall not	F	shan’t

Seely, J.   1998.   The Oxford Guide to Writing & Speaking.    Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The apostrophe is also used to form the plural of words that are not nouns and consequently do not have a plural form, e.g.:

• There are too many buts's, and's, will's and shall's in the text.
• The A's in the book are too big.
• The 5's and 7's in the book have been printed clearly.
• The 1980's were noted for severe droughts.

However the 's is increasingly being omitted, especially in the case of the four examples mentioned above. Consequently the recommended spelling of the above is the following:

• There are too many buts's, and's, will's and shall's in the text
   (’s retained).
• The As in the book are too big.
• The 5s and 7s in the book have been printed clearly.
• The 1980s were noted for severe droughts.

The apostrophe is also used to denote possession. Sometimes only the apostrophe is used and sometimes the 's is used. If the word is difficult to pronounce after adding 's, just the apostrophe is used. The examples that follow illustrate the correct usage of the apostrophe or 's:

John's book Columbus's voyage Weiss's property Dickens's novels Peter and Mary's house    (after the second omission) Adam, Smith and Jones’s book    (after the last omission) CLT's ministry course

Jesus' disciples Brutus' speech Mr Masters' dog Achilles' heel Husbands'    problems For conscience'    sake Two days' leave

Welman, A.   1995.   HSRC Publishers manual.    Pretoria: HSRC Publishers.

1. The possessive case. We can say either 'the whiskers of the cat' or 'the cat's whiskers'. This is the possessive case - when something belongs to something or somebody else.

2. When the possessor is single we indicate possession by the use of an apostrophe followed by the letter 's':

• The man's coat
• my sister's hat

3. When the possessors are plural, the apostrophe is placed after the   's':

• The ladies' cloakroom
• my cousins' parents

4. When names end with the letter 's', either use is acceptable:

• James' wife
• James's wife

5. The apostrophe is never used with possessive pronouns:

• his
• hers
• its
• ours
• yours
• theirs

But it is used with 'one': One must do one's best

6. Note that many shops and business concerns these days omit the apostrophe from their titles:

• Barclays Bank
• Coopers Wines

7. Contractions. In formal prose we would write 'She has told him', but when speaking we would say 'She's told him'. The apostrophe is used to indicate any missing letters.

8. I'm (I am) - he's (He is) - You're (You are)

9. NOTE the difference between it's (it is) and its (belonging to it). These are often mis-used.

10. You should avoid using contractions in academic essays and formal writing. They create a rather casual tone.

Source: www.mantex.co.uk (sample page)

Rule 1. Use the apostrophe with contractions. The apostrophe is always placed at the spot where the letter(s) has been removed.

Example:
don’t, isn’t

Rule 2. Use the apostrophe to show possession. Place the apostrophe before the s to show possession by one person.

Examples:
the boy’s hat
the boy’s hats (One boy possesses more than one hat.)

Rule 3. To show possession by more than one person, make the noun plural first. Then immediately use the apostrophe.

Examples:

one boy’s hat	two boys’ hats
one woman’s hat	two women’s hats
one actress’s hat	two actresses’ hats
one child’s hat	two children’s hats
Ms. Smith’s house	the Smiths’ house

Rule 4. To show singular possession with proper nouns ending in s or an s sound, you have the option of dropping the s that would normally follow the apostrophe.

Example of singular possession:
Ms. Jones’ office OR Ms. Jones’s office

Example of plural possession:
the Joneses’ house

NOTE: This example still follows Rule 3.

Rule 5. With a singular compound noun, show possession with ’s at the end of the word as in Rule 2.

Example:
my mother-in-law’s hat

Rule 6. If the compound noun is plural, Rule 3 still applies.

Example:
my two brothers-in-law’s hats

Rule 7. Use the apostrophe and s after the second name only if two people possess the same item.

Examples:
Mark and Bonnie’s home is constructed of redwood.
Mark’s and Bonnie’s job contracts will be renewed next year. (separate ownership)
Mark and Bonnie’s job contracts will be renewed next year. (joint ownership of more than one contract)

Rule 8. Never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns — his, hers, theirs, ours, yours. They already show possession so do not need an apostrophe. The only time an apostrophe is used for it’s is when it is a contraction for it is.

Examples:
This book is hers, not yours.
It hurt its paw.
It’s a nice day.
That is your right.
BUT You’re right. (You are right.)

Rule 9. Using an apostrophe to show plurals of numbers, letters, and figures is optional.

Examples:
She consulted with three M.D.’s. OR She consulted with three M.D.s.
She went to three M.D.s’ offices. (plural possessive)

Rule 10. Use possessive case in front of a gerund (ing word).

Examples:
Alex’s skating was a joy to behold.
This does not stop Joan’s inspecting of our facilities next Thursday.
I appreciate your inviting me to dinner.

The apostrophe, which is a sign that a letter has been omitted, is used to indicate possession. A few centuries ago, possessive forms were made like this:

the presidentes spokesman; the kinges English; the boyses tent

Today we use the apostrophe.

the president's spokesman; the king's English

Generally, it is not necessary to add 's to show possession when the singular noun ends in s. Charles and Charles's are both acceptable, although the trend is toward the apostrophe alone.

The apostrophe also shows omitted letters in contractions.

wouldn't for would not; don't for do not; can't for cannot; she's for she is; he's for he is (avoid he's/she's for he has/she has); it's for it is; won't for will not

The apostrophe also indicates the omission of the current century in a date.

Spirit of '76

a child of the '50s

The plural of singular letters is formed by adding 's.

mind your p's and q's

dot all the i's, cross all the t's

Some editors don't use the apostrophe to form plurals of capital letter abbreviations and acronyms or numbers. They favour POWs over POW's, GIs over GI's. and '50s over '50's. Regardless, it is pros and cons, not pro's and con's.

8.  Quotation Marks (Inverted Commas)

When journalists quote someone, that is, report the person's words exactly (or as exactly as it is humanly possible to transcribe), the person's words are enclosed in quotation marks.

"A woman can never become a great mathematician," a math professor said recently.

The misuse of quotation marks makes editors scream. One misuse is called orphan or fragmentary quotations. To understand the misuse, you must first appreciate the convention of using quotation marks around single words to signal an ironic or sarcastic use, a misuse, a shading of meaning or a slang use of a word.

Here is a sarcastic use:

"When you remove all the fancy words from my opponent's campaign 'promises,' you'll see he really hasn't committed himself to do anything," Sen. Smith said.

Promises is not what Sen. Smith meant. He was denigrating his opponent's campaign statements by suggesting they weren't what his opponent said they were.

In the following sentence, quotation marks surround a misuse of a word:

The editor told the cub reporter to get a lot of "quotes" for his story.

What the editor meant was quotations; quote is a verb used as a noun only in newsrooms.

Here quotation marks surround a shading of meaning:

Back in 1970 there were four men on the Supreme Court who took the "absolute" view of the First Amendment.

Relative to the other justices, the four were absolutists. But there has never been a pure absolutist on the Supreme Court, at least in First Amendment decisions.

Quotation marks are also used around slang:

As a consumer advocate, Lee is constantly on guard against being "taken" and is now in court with 14 cases.

And around coined words:

The budget problem has been "overmediated," the economist said.

The economist believed that the problem had received too much coverage in the news media. Labor problems can be overmediated, perhaps, but the word has nothing to do with intensive news coverage.

Usually, the quotation marks around slang and coined words are dropped in subsequent references.

Sometimes writers use quotation marks around a single word or short phrase to make it clear that they are using some else's words, not their own.

An "astoundingly" large number of children are mistreated by their parents, and a new study of child abuse says mothers are more likely to do the mistreating.

Considering all of the uses that have been cited above, the journalist who places quotation marks around single words risks confusing the reader For example:

The mayor said he is "angry" with council member Blair.

If the mayor is indeed angry, drop the quotation marks so the reader doesn't believe the word is misused. If the mayor is being facetious, make the context clear and use the quotation marks. It is puzzling to read news stories of someone's retirement or resignation that include this phrase:

The resignation was accepted with "regret."

Single quotation marks are used in place of double quotation marks in newspaper headlines. In a story, they are also used to indicate a quotation within a quotation.

The speaker said: "It was Hamlet, I believe, who said, 'To be or not to be.' Well, that is the question facing us tonight."

Quotations continued from one paragraph to the next are used in the following way:

"We're not necessarily looking for a direct tie," Hillard said.

"Those cases may be another disease that we have to thoroughly investigate. [No closing quotation marks. ]

"They wanted to call it a sort of virus or flu."

The joint stylebook of the wire services calls for quotation marks around titles of books, operas, plays, television programs, works of art, songs, movies, lectures and speeches. Newspapers, however, seem to be very selective in applying that guideline, enclosing the titles of books but not the titles of movies, or the names of newspapers but not the names of magazines. The trend seems to be moving away from using quotation marks when the meaning is clear. More and more newspapers also seem inclined to use italics in place of quotation marks, which is book style.

The story first appeared in the November edition of More magazine.

Finally, there is this warning on something quotation marks don't do--they don't get a newspaper off the hook in a libel case.

"She's a no-good whore," Petyak said of his daughter-in-law, the former Mary T. Meade.

While it is true that the speaker can be sued for libel, so can the newspaper. Quotation marks don't change that fact.

Rule 1. full stops and commas always go inside quotation marks, even inside single quotes.

Examples:
The sign changed from "Walk," to "Don’t Walk," to "Walk" again within 30 seconds.
She said, "Hurry up."
She said, "He said, ‘Hurry up.’"

Rule 2. The placement of question marks with quotes follows logic. If a question is in quotation marks, the question mark should be placed inside the quote.

Examples:
She asked, "Will you still be my friend?"

Do you agree with the saying, "All’s fair in love and war"?
Here the question is outside the quote.

NOTE: Only one ending punctuation mark is used with quotation marks. Also, the stronger punctuation mark wins. Therefore, no full stop after war is used.

Rule 3. When you have a question outside AND inside a quote, use only one question mark and place it inside the quotation mark.

Example:
Did she say, "May I go?"

Rule 4. Use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes. Note that the full stop goes inside all quote marks.

Example:
He said, "Mary said, ‘Do not treat me that way.’"

Rule 5. Use quotation marks to set off a direct quotation only.

Examples:
"When will you be here?" he asked.
He asked when you will be there.

9.  Capital Letters (Capitalization)

Uppercase versus lowercase

Research shows that phrases all printed in capital letters are read nearly 12 % more slowly than the same phrases printed in capitals and lowercase, and 90 % of readers consider all-capital type to be less legible than lowercase. Therefore, the use of all-capital type should be avoided for virtually all applications, including continuous reading text and headings and titles. Rather, use larger font sizes and bold or italic type (or even a different font) to provide the different look required of titles and the like. Unfortunate the practice of using all caps within a paragraph of lowercase text to set off certain words, phrases, or sentences

Rule 1. Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence.

Examples:
He said, "Treat her as you would your own daughter."
"Look out!" she screamed. "You almost ran into my child."

Rule 2. Capitalize a proper noun.

Example:
Golden Gate Bridge

Rule 3. It is often requested that you capitalize a person’s title when it precedes the name. Do not capitalize when the title is acting as a description following the name.

Examples:
Chairperson Haines   OR   chairperson Haines
Ms. Haines, the chairperson of the company, will address us at noon.

Rule 4. Capitalize when the person’s title follows the name on the address or signature line.

Example:
Sincerely,
Ms. Haines, Chairperson

Rule 5. Capitalize the titles of high-ranking government officials when used with or without their names.

Examples:
The President will address Congress. All Senators are expected to attend.
President Clinton will discuss the economy.

Rule 6. Capitalize points of the compass only when they refer to specific regions.

Examples:
We have had Presidents from the South.
Go south three blocks and then turn left.
We live in the southeast section of town. Southeast is just an adjective here so should not be capitalized.

Rule 7. Capitalize titles of publications except for a, an, the, but, as, if, and, or, nor, and other little words when used internally. Capitalize short verb forms like Is, Are, and Be.

Examples:
The Day of the Jackal
What Colour Is Your Parachute?

Rule 8. The capitalization rules for state and federal continue to be hotly debated. Capitalizing the words state and federal, when referring to them as agencies, is optional. When state and federal are actual parts of the agencies’ names, capitalize.

Examples:
The State has evidence to the contrary. OR The state has evidence to the contrary.
That is a Federal offense. OR That is a federal offense.
The State Board of Equalization deals with sales taxes.
We will visit three states during our summer vacation.

Rule 9. You may capitalize words such as department, bureau, and office if you have prepared your text in the following way:

Example:
The Bureau of Land Management (Bureau) will have some jurisdiction over Fort Ord. The Bureau is finding this role difficult.

Rule 10. Do not capitalize names of seasons.

Example:
I love autumn colours and spring flowers.

Rule 11. Capitalize the first word of a salutation and the first word of a complimentary close.

Example:
My dear Mr. Smith:
Very truly yours,

Rule 12. Capitalize words derived from proper nouns.

Examples:
I must take English and math. English is capitalized because it comes from the proper noun England but math does not come from mathland.

I must take French and Math 1.
Math 1 is a specific course title.

TOP