I know I should learn to relax and chill out, but misplaced apostrophes make my blood boil. That’s why one of my all-time heroes is the chap from Bristol who invented the apostrophiser – a rather effective if somewhat Heath Robinson bit of kit with a long handle (and a special stepladder to boot) that he uses to add or remove dodgy apostrophes. With a set square and scalpel for precision, this grammar vigilante reaches places that most others don’t (correct apostrophe!) even realise need reaching.
Like Mr Apostrophiser, we bid professionals understand the importance of good punctuation – it helps to create meaning and readability. Equally, we pride ourselves on knowing our grammar. The apostrophe, however, is a busy little bee popping up in different grammatical scenarios, so I thought a quick recap might be helpful.
Indicating possession
- Singular nouns: Grandma’s Christmas Tree
- Plural nouns ending in “s”: The boys’ Christmas presents
- Plural nouns not ending in “s”: The children’s Christmas stockings
The joker in the pack here is to never put an apostrophe in “its” when indicating possession: The Christmas tree and its brilliant white lights. And be aware there is persistent controversy over the possessive form of names ending in “s” – is it the Christmas’ or Christmas’s? (and yes, we are referring to anyone with the legitimate surname Christmas – thank you, Victoria).
Apostrophes are also used to express time or measurement in possessive form: A week’s holiday at Christmas, or for the lucky ones, two weeks’ holiday at Christmas.
Indicating missing letters or numbers
- In contractions: Do not -> don’t, it is orit has -> it’s, they are -> they’re, cannot -> can’t, and so on.
- Omitted numbers in dates or numerical expressions: The Christmas of ’99.
Although this rule doesn’t apply for commonly accepted shortened words such as:
- Xmas (Christmas!)
- Fridge (refrigerator) and phone (telephone)
- Anything to do with addresses – Rd (road), Ave (avenue) or St (street) – presumably because it would cost councils too much in extra signage!
Plurals
Apostrophes are generally a no-no in pluralisation, including abbreviations. It’s CDs (not CD’s) of Christmas Carols (older readers may recall the days when this wasn’t the case, and Americans would still regard it as sacrilege).
But there are always exceptions to the rule…
First, with the plural form of letters or numbers. This can cause some controversy, not least between UK English and American English. For example, In the 1900s/1900’s (UK/US) we had more white Christmases or Jane won the Christmas bingo with lots of 7s/7’s (you choose).
Second, with letters – How many s’s are there in Christmas? Or We’d better mind our p’s and q’s when Grandma comes on Christmas Day.
And the really pesky one… A list of Christmas (a) dos and don’ts, (b) do’s and don’ts or (c) do’s and don’t’s? Reputable style guides vary here, so take your pick!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick apostrophal skirmish. Hats (not hat’s) off to Mr Apostrophiser and to Lynne Truss for the brilliant “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” which has more esoteric examples and reference to the ‘Apostropher Royal’. Check it out.
Sarah Hinchliffe
Sarah labels herself a ‘Storyteller, Organiser, Timekeeper’ – three things that come naturally to her. After a 30-year sales career in the IT industry, where she learnt every popular sales methodology and sold millions of pounds of software and services, Sarah decided to share what she’d learnt about winning business using great stories, a systematic approach and consistently delivering on time. She continues learning and sharing through her freelance consulting work and volunteering as a writer, speaker and mentor.
