Apostrophes
When a student submits written work to a professor or to a law firm, no mistake will stand out more or create a more negative impression of that student's work than the mistaken use -- or nonuse -- of apostrophes. It is therefore critical that you master these simple, yet often-confused, rules.There are four situations that are often confused. These are the use or nonuse of apostrophes in (i) plural words, (ii) singular possessive terms, (iii) plural possessive terms, and (iv) the contraction and possessive forms of it's and its. When considering whether a term should be possessive, first ask yourself whether ownership is involved. If it is, the noun or pronoun should take the possessive form.
1. Plain plural words do not require the use of an apostrophe. For example:
Incorrect: The lawyer's could generally be found after hours at the Hanover Street Bar and Grill. (The apostrophe here incorrectly indicates a singular possessive.)Incorrect: The lawyers' could generally be found after hours at the Hanover Street Bar and Grill. (The apostrophe here incorrectly indicates a plural possessive.)
Correct: The lawyers could generally be found after hours at the Hanover Street Bar and Grill. (The lack of an apostrophe here correctly indicates a plural, nonpossessive term.)
2. In singular possessive terms, place the apostrophe before the "s." This will indicate ownership by one person or thing. For example:
Incorrect: Our schools collection included an original set of Blackstone's Commentaries.Incorrect: Our schools' collection included an original set of Blackstone's Commentaries.
Correct: Our school's collection included an original set of Blackstone's Commentaries.
3. In plural possessive terms, place the apostrophe after the "s." This will indicate to the reader that more than one person or thing owns the thing possessed.
Incorrect: The students success was largely attributable to their hard work and dedication.Incorrect: The student's success was largely attributable to their hard work and dedication.
Correct: The students' success was largely attributable to their hard work and dedication.
4. How to distinguish "its" and "it's."
"It's" is the contraction of "it is," as in the sentence, "It's best not to question the judge's knowledge of the laws of evidence in open court." In formal writing, however, one generally should not use contractions. Thus, the better formulation of the sentence above would be: "It is best not to question the judge's knowledge of the laws of evidence in open court."
"Its" is a possessive, as in the sentence,
"The truck lost its muffler as it entered the pothole-laden Kennedy Expressway."
This is the rare case in which a possessive term does not take an apostrophe.
5. A less-often faced decision involves the use of apostrophes where multiple owners are named. Where two or more people own one item jointly, place an apostrophe before an "s" only after the second-named person. For example:
Incorrect: Bill's and Mary's car was a lemon, leading them to seek rescission of their contract under the state's lemon law.Correct: Bill and Mary's car was a lemon, leading them to seek rescission of their contract under the state's lemon law.
However, when two or more people own
two or more items separately, each individual's name should take the possessive
form. For example:
Incorrect: Joanne and Todd's cars were bought from the same dealer; both proved useless, even though Joanne's car was an import and Todd's was a domestic model.Correct: Joanne's and Todd's cars were bought from the same dealer; both proved useless, even though Joanne's car was an import and Todd's was a domestic model.
6. When creating the possessive form of words ending in "s," use only an apostrophe after the "s" if the word ends in a "z" sound. However, if the word ends in an "s" sound use an apostrophe and an additional "s" to create the possessive.
Less Desirable: He was a student in Professor Adams's class.More Desirable: He was a student in Professor Adams' class.
However: He was a student in Professor Weiss's class.
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