AP style More punctuation: apostrophes and plurals (part 1)

Quick tip on apostrophes Just because a word ends in s, that doesn’t mean it ends in ’s. For example: The Northpoint boy’s basketball team beat Hillville Tuesday night. How many boys are on the team in the example?

Words that do and don’t end in s Plural nouns not ending in s: add ’s. - The alumni’s contribution; women’s rights. Singular nouns not ending in s: add ’s. - The church’s needs; the girl’s toys; the horse’s food; the VIP’s seat. Singular common nouns ending in s: add ’s unless the next word begins with s - The hostess’s invitation; the hostess’ seat - The witness’s answer; the witness’ story

Both singular and plural For nouns that are plural in form, but singular, add only an apostrophe. - Mathematics’ rules; General Motors’ profits; the United States’ wealth. Nouns that are same singular and plural: Treat the same as plurals. - One corps’ location. The two deer’s tracks.

Names Singular proper names ending in s: Use an apostrophe - Achilles’ heel - Agnes’ book - Dickens’ novels - Jesus’ life - Moses law Exception: St. James’s Palace

Pronouns No apostrophe with these: mine, ours, your, yours, his, hers, its, theirs, whose Contractions: double check apostrophe by saying the word out. - It’s = it is. They’re = they are. There’s = there is

Compound words Add an apostrophe or ‘s to the word closest to the object possessed. The major general’s decision. The major generals’ decisions. The attorney general’s request. The attorneys general’s request. Anyone else’s attitude. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania’s motion. Or: The motion by Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania

Joint and individual possession Use a possessive form after only the last word if ownership is joint: - Fred and Sylvia’s apartment. Use the possessive form after both words if the objects are individually owned: - Fred’s and Sylvia’s books.

Descriptive phrases Do not add an apostrophe to a word ending in s when it is used in a descriptive sense - citizens band radio; a teachers college; Detroit Tigers pitchers; a Teamsters request An ’s is required when the term is plural but does not end in s - a children’s hospital; a people’s republic; the Young Men’s Christian Association

Descriptive names Some governmental, corporate and institutional groups use an apostrophe in their name, some do not. Follow the user’s practice: - Actors’ Equity; Diners Club; The Ladies’ Home Journal; the National Governors Association See the separate entries for each group to find out what to use

Quasi possessives Same as the rules on previous slides: - A day’s work. Two weeks’ vacation. Three days’ work. Hyphenated form may be clearer: - A two-week vacation, a three-day job.

Omitted letters It is OK to use contractions, but avoid excessive use of them. Those listed in the dictionary are OK. Remember, say both words out if you aren’t sure if it’s (it is) the correct usage. I’ve, it’s, don’t, rock ’n’ roll; ’tis the season Omitted figures: The class of ’6o is holding its 50th reunion. The ‘80s were an awful time for music.

Plurals of a single letter Mind your p’s and q’s. He learned the three R’s and brought home a report card with four A’s and two B’s. The Oakland A’s won their division.

Plurals Most words, add an s: boy, boys. Words ending in ch, s, sh, ss, x and z: add es - Churches, lenses, boxes. Except monarchs. Words ending in is: Change to an es - Oasis, oases. Parenthesis, parentheses. Words ending in f: in general, change the f to v and add es: Leaf, leaves. Self, selves. Roof, roofs is an exception.

Plurals, continued Words ending in y: If y is preceded by a consonant or qu, change y to i and add es: Army, armies. Soliloquy, soliloquies. Words ending in o: If o is preceded by a consonant, most plurals require es: buffalo, buffaloes; hero, heroes. - There are exceptions: piano, pianos. Check individual entries in the book for exceptions.

Form change Man, men Child, children Foot, feet Mouse, mice When s is used with any of these words, it indicates possession. Therefore, it must have an ’s: men’s store, children’s workshop.

Questions?