By English grammar, Apostrophes

(1) We only played one ... and it was four years ago. - You need to use the PAST SIMPLE here because you're talking about something which happened 4 years ago.(2) ...between his wife and the girls' coach... - you need the apostrophe after 'girls' because it's a possessive...

Tanit wrote:To make the possessive form of a SINGULAR noun that ends in -s, some style guides say to add just an apostrophe ('); others say you should add an apostrophe and s ('s). Some say that either way is correct. I find older grammar books, for example "A Modern English Grammar" (Oxford...

Anonymous wrote: what's the rule in english grammar for forming the possessive of a singular noun that ends in s? When I was in high school, I was taught to add only an apostrophe and not an "s". Only later did I discover that both forms are possible. Read: " To make the possessive form of...

CalifJim wrote:So a sports car is wrong? Being in a minority does not mean being wrong. sports does seem to be a curious exception, and I'm sure there are others. Everyone is invited to add to the list of exceptions, if that sounds like fun! sports bar, sports medicine CJHi JimI...

J Lewis: Thank you for the explanation of 'soccer'. I knew it had been coined from 'association', but didn't know it had been done by the British.Words like 'clothesline' are in dictionaries, so it's understandable that the plural s is there. A United Nations assembly is not in dictionaries and...

Hi Davkett, Thank you for the interesting response. I've been thinking about it, and I have a few comments. I'm not familar with the site you quoted, and I don't know its credentials. I don't agree with what it baldly says about Singular Nouns (ending with -s) .... eg James' room or Chris...

In my humble opinion, there is very little wrong with this essay, as far as the English grammar is concerned. I would want to correct "The stronger countries try to get hold of the weaker one's resources", probably rephrasing it as "Stronger countries try to grab the resources that belong to...

Well, I've just joined. This is a bit strange. The possessive of it is without question its, no apostrophe. Mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, no apostrophe in any of them. It's invariably means it is or it has, and there is no such word as its'. All basic English grammar. And yet,...

Hi, Bews’, James’ Smiths’… The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar possessive (n. & adj.) (A word or case) indicating possession or ownership. The possessive case of nouns is also called the GENITIVE case, e.g. boy's, boys', Mary's, the Smiths'. Pronouns in the possessive case are the series...