In Expressions^x, Apostrophes^x, Plurals^x

Good questions. I'm probably too tired to answer them well. I may mix them all together in a salad. In the physical world, I think of an insert as something designed for easy removal and reinsertion or replacement - such as a bushing, which is a very unsophisticated bearing. Such things...

Memos show Clinton turmoil Question: I would have written ''Clinton's turmoil''. Why didn't the author use apostrophe? BY CRAIG GORDON AND TOM BRUNE | <email addresses removed by mod.> August 13, 2008 Question: Why is semicolon used instead of comma to separate...

Hi, I would like to know what one of the follow sentences would be correct: Run for your life, boys. OK. The speaker is thinking that each boy has one life. Run for your life's, boys. No. The correct expression is 'Run for your lives, boys. There's not a lot of difference, but the speaker is...

Hi Rosalama No answer to your question will please everybody. Many people think no apostrophe should be used in your expressions: in the 1980s The plural genitive is formed by adding an apostrophe after the plural s, so the genitive should be: I don't like the 1980s' music. However, many people...

Grammar Geek wrote: Hey CB, I assume you were being silly, right? (There being no connection between a sports car and any actual type of sport - except, perhaps car racing...) Hi GG Not in the least. I think you are. No connection between any type of sport and sports equipment ? Sports is...

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...

However, in quantitative expressions of the following type there is possible variation: a ten day absence With temporal nouns in the plural, the apostrophe is sometimes omitted: several weeks'/weeks vacation Pages 325 &1333, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, by...

Hello Anon (MN?) and YoHF, YoHF’s re-draft is excellent, with a very good style. You should try and follow the style and rhythm of the English. In case you look at it too closely, there are a couple of minor errors in it which I show below. As no-one else has replied to you regarding your...

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

1. Plural nouns not ending in 's' take both the apostrophe and the 's': "The children's toys." "The men's cars." 2. Nouns that take -s for the plural add only the apostrophe to indicate possession (this is called 'zero genitive'): "The boys' toys." "The dogs' tails." 3. The 'zero form'...