(no subject)

[green_queen]

Green Queen's Grammar Lesson of the day:

Plurals. Adding an 's' to the end of a word in English can be taken to mean many things. For example, if you would like to indicate that you are using a possessive, you might use an apostrophe followed by an 's', as in "The cat's paws." Note how there is NO apostrophe before the 's' that has been added to the word 'paw.' That's because in that instance, I was trying to indicate a PLURAL.

APOSTROPHE = POSSESSIVE
NO APOSTROPHE = PLURAL

Except, of course, for ITS, which has NO APOSTROPHE in its possessive form. IT'S is still a contraction of IT IS.

Thankyou for your attention. Here, have some Moseley.



Green Queen

Comments

[oftheunderworld.livejournal.com]

*applauds*

Amazing how many people still screw that up.

[mystic20.livejournal.com]

He's so cute!!!

[hwconundrum.livejournal.com]

Of course, it gets more difficult when you try to pluralise something that already ends in an S, since you end up with:

the cat's paws' claws
or
the cat's paws's claws

...since I'm fairly certain there's no hard and fast 'proper' way of doing it, although I would tend towards the first in this case. You seem to get another variable with surnames, too (i.e. the Joneses).

Then again, I'm living in St Andrews (rather than St Andrew's). :P

[green-queen.livejournal.com]

True, but the error I am adressing is the fact that people will insist on writing 'pyjama's' instead of 'pyjamas'.

[hwconundrum.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. Though I suppose they're both better than 'pajamas' or 'pajama's'. Spelling > grammar?

[sarahmarie054.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only grammar freak out there.

[mouse7th.livejournal.com]

He's cute

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

He's just too cute.

I still have trouble with the "it's" "its" thing. Whoever created this language was on crack when they were doing it.

[kilted.livejournal.com]

Lovely. And look! He's wearing a pin!

aww, I am reminded of Dom...

[thepsychicclam.livejournal.com]

bwhahahah, funny you posted this today, cause i was reading essays all day, and that was one of the things i kept circling or adding in. these kids are high school seniors and have no clue how to use an apostrophe. i'm not saying i always do it correctly on lj, cause sometimes you do things quickly, but in an essay on a test? fuck yeah you should use them right c_c

[rosamundeb.livejournal.com]

Seeing "it's" used incorrectly drives me crazy, too!

Hmmm... cute little button he's wearing there - *G*.

And... am I mistaken, or has he stolen "Teh One Freckle" from Dom's neck?!?! *aghast*

[skadi101.livejournal.com]

So when do we need the apostrophe AFTER the 's'? That's the one thing that remains confusing to me.

[green-queen.livejournal.com]

If you have a last name that ends in an 's' - James, for instance - you would says "the James' cat." You can also put an apostrophe after the s if you're talking about a possessive of a plural - "the James' cat's paws' claws." You can just write "The James's cat's paw's claws," if you want to, though.

My brain hurts.