Use of the apostrophe

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miriam

#38982 Sat, 24 Jul 04 05:32 AM

It's "ifs and buts", without the apostrophe. In this expression, you are using the plural of "if" and "but". The "s" is the inflectional suffix for the plural; it becomes part of the word it is added to.

Miriam

miriam

Joined on Mon, May 10 2004

Argentina

Regular Member (821)

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." Plato

Plurals, Expressions, Apostrophes

Guest

#42937 Thu, 19 Aug 04 10:04 PM

ok... i have learnt the use of the apostrophe but i am still quite confused, for example, it is said that the apostrophe must be used to state the property or belonging of itmes (Ron's room for instance) however, what about non material things such as.. opinions? (Ron's opinion) and if this is the case, then, when I should say The opinion of Ron?.. pls help me!

Guest

Apostrophes

roisin

#43022 Fri, 20 Aug 04 01:40 PM

Just a quick note on the James's / Socrates' question. I was always taught that this use of the apostrophe in connection with a Name was resloved on the number of syllables in the name.
So it is Yeats's poem (Yeats has only one syllable)
versus Socrates' writings (Socrates has two syllables)
And to reply to Guest's question - non-material possession is irrelevant isn't it? It's all possession, whether it's Guest's hair or Guest's question.

roisin

Joined on Fri, Aug 20 2004

New Member (01)

Numbers, Apostrophes

Mister Micawber

#43036 Sun, 22 Aug 04 11:40 PM

Hi Roison,

Welcome to English Forums.

No, the number of syllables is irrelevant.
Yes, the nature of the possessed is irrelevant; I think our guest was thinking of 'the table's leg'.

Mister Micawber

Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004

Yokohama

Veteran Member (21,223)

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

Numbers, Apostrophes

Guest

#44025 Tue, 31 Aug 04 06:13 PM

Hello,

For the following, which one is correct usage of an apostrophe?

(a) The Graphic Professionals' Resource Network

(b) The Graphic Professional's Resource Network

Reading through the other posts it seems that the first one would be correct as I'm referring to a network of many professional people. However, the network exists to serve each person individually.

thanks!

Guest

Apostrophes

Guest

#48542 Fri, 01 Oct 04 07:40 PM

Hello,
I wondered if someone might be able to help me. I am getting my prints ready for a gallery showing, and I am confused about the proper punctuation for the following:
1. This picture is of a spider web. I want to title it Summers Web. Now, I have a niece named Summer, and if I wanted to title it specifically for her, would it be different than if I wanted to title it generally for the season of summer?
2. This picture is of flowers along a lake and I would like to title it Waters Edge or Kalas Garden. What would be proper use for either?
Thank you very much in advance for your help.
Beth

Guest

Apostrophes, Punctuation

Mister Micawber

#48573 Sat, 02 Oct 04 12:57 AM

1. 'Summer's Web'. Since it is a title, all major words are capitalized, so there is no orthographic difference between 'Summer' (the girl) and 'summer' (the season).

2. 'Water's Edge' but I don't know about Kalas Garden-- is the proper name 'Kala'? If so, 'Kala's Garden'; if it is 'Kalas', then 'Kalas' Garden'; if it is not possessive, but the name of the garden (like Cypress Gardens), then 'Kalas Garden'.

Mister Micawber

Difference between, Apostrophes, Possessives

Guest

#49002 Mon, 04 Oct 04 10:13 PM

Thank you very much!

Guest

Apostrophes

PoorRichard

#49097 Tue, 05 Oct 04 03:15 PM

Another use of the apostrophe is in the locative case, e.g.

1. I'm staying round Fred's tonight.
2. Are you going to Sainsbury's?
3. I was over at your cousin's last week.

In the locative, the sense is 'at the place of', i.e.

1. I'm staying round Fred's [house] tonight.
2. Are you going to Sainsbury's [store]?
3. I was over at your cousin's [place] last week.

To return to the original question, we could therefore also simply call the establishment HARPER'S (if it refers to just one Harper).

PoorRichard

Joined on Tue, Oct 5 2004

Junior Member (66)

Apostrophes

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