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This question is Not Answered
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Guest
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31286
Fri, 28 May 04 06:41 PM
I'm confused whether to use apostrophe in the following examples:
He will get an award of attorneys' fees. (Sometimes "attorney fees" is used interchangeably, hence my confusion of whether it's just the name of the fees or if it's possessive)
OR
He will get an award of attorneys fees. (Meaning just the name of the fees)
OR
He will get an award of attorney's fees. (Singular)
CONFUSION WITH THIS AS WELL:
Nurses' station
OR
Nurses station.
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Medusa171
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32717
Thu, 10 Jun 04 03:42 PM
It all depends. With one person (or thing) the apostrophe goes in front of the s. With two or more, it goes behind. This does not apply to pronouns, of course.
Examples:
Nurse's Station - One nurse
Nurses' Station - More than one nurse
And I believe that "attorney's fees" is correct, but it's a tricky sentence.
Joined on
Thu, Jun 10 2004
New Member
21
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maj,
5 yr 169 days ago
He will get an award of attorney's fees. Can someone explain the meaning of this sentence?
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taiwandave
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32767
Thu, 10 Jun 04 09:51 PM
The sentence reads better if written as follows:
He will be awarded attorney's fees.
The likely scenario is a lawsuit in which the losing party is obligated to pay the winner's legal costs.
Joined on
Mon, Jun 7 2004
Taoyuan City, Taiwan
Full Member
287
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taiwandave,
5 yr 167 days ago
I made a mistake. What I wrote should have been:
He will be awarded attorneys' fees.
Sorry.
Guest,
4 yr 200 days ago
I think the original poster understands how to place an apostrophe in plural vs. singular possessives.
The question is specifically about the term "attorneys fees." I've seen it written with and without the apostrophe. What I'd like to know is if there is an accepted rule for writing it.
--If it is to be written with "attorneys" as an adjective, than I'd assume "attorneys fees" would be correct always (regardless of the number of attorneys).
--If "attorney" is supposed to be possessive, than the rule above would apply ("attorney's" in the case of a single lawyer, "attorneys'" in the case of two or more lawyers).
Any help would be appreciated.
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