McDonough Editorial

Trying to properly place an apostrophe can be just as complicated as comma usage. We tend to remember only the most basic placement rules, and anything beyond that fluctuates too much for anyone to get a concrete grasp. While there are many functions of an apostrophe, today’s focus will remain on situations that we run into everyday as a refresher on the fundementals. Walk through and clear up any of your questionable apostrophe cases.  

The examples will follow the rules set by the most recent Associated Press Style Guide (AP) and Chicago Manual of Style.

Plurals

Singular nouns

 Let’s start off simple. Singular nouns are a noun that is a countable, like people, places or physical tangible objects. The general rule when putting singular nouns in their plural form is to add s or es. Since conference already has an e ending, then it requires s to be plural. 

Proper names in plural

This is a common holiday card typo that a number of copy editors have tried to prevent, consider this your seasonal reminder. When you are trying to make a proper name plural without any possession, there is no need for an apostrophe. In this example, you can see that the name Brooker only requires an s to be plural. If your last name happens to end in ch, s, sh, x, or z then the plural form requires es. 

Plural singular letters

Here is one of the moments that a letter is standing in place for a word. The apostrophe is there because it’s a lowercase letter, and therefore needing a clear separation from the plural s added. Both Chicago and AP recommend the apostrophe only be used for single letters or numbers. If a capital letter, abbreviation or combination of numbers need to be plural, use s without an apostrophe.

Possessives

Singular nouns

Singular nouns like chair call for only the classic ‘s when it comes to the possessive form. In the example, it is a clear signal that the problematic wheels belong to that one specific chair. 

Plural nouns

AP

Plural nouns are a type of noun that is singular in form but stands for a group of something, like collection could mean a wide variety of things. The two style guides have a split direction when it comes to plural nouns. Following AP, a plural noun that doesn’t naturally end in s will take an ‘s for the possessive form. For this instance, the apostrophe is giving ownership to the collection in relation to the mentioned release.

Chicago

By the rules of Chicago Style, they require all plural nouns to show the possessive by using the apostrophe only. The plural of analysis is analyses and in this particular example we are talking about multiple analyses results, so it uses apostrophe only.

Proper names

AP

Another fork in the style guide road comes with proper names. AP says that singular proper names already ending in s take the apostrophe only. Because the example is talking about a specific singular man, his name keeps the singular form and takes on the possessive. 

Chicago and the singular

 In this case, Chicago calls for the singular noun to carry ‘s even if the name has a natural s ending. Both singular examples mean the same thing with an adjustment for preferred style.

Chicago and the plural

There are a lot of pieces that lead to this example being what you see now. The plural of Douglas is Douglases putting that plural in possessive form by Chicago Style requires apostrophe only. 

Collective nouns

Collective nouns are singular in form and are used to describe groups of individuals. Panel is a collective noun that shows multiple people. Both style guides treat collective nouns the same when they don’t end in s, by using the basic ‘s.If the example used a different word that did end in s, you’d require an apostrophe only. 

Mass nouns

Not ending in S

Dictionary.com explains mass nouns as a noun that cannot be counted such as water, sand, or any kind of abstract. Given that research is a mass noun without an s ending, the example uses ‘s. Since mass nouns only have one form, follow the rules set by the style guides for singular nouns. In this sentence, research is taking ownership of the results being discussed. 

Ending in S

News is a mass noun that ends in s which you can tell by now would require apostrophe only by the standards of both style guides.

Joint vs. individual posession

Joint

Joint possession happens when a noun can be possessed by more than one person. In the case of this example, the ‘s shows the joint team work of Jake and Sarah. Both AP and Chicago want the ‘s to land on the last word before the subject being possessed. Because leadership is what is being possessed, the mark lands on Sarah.

Individual

For this example, each person takes the possessive form because it shows individual possession. Setting both names with the ‘s gives notice that the reports are separate and have individual authors. 

Compound nouns

 Thesaurus.com explains that a compound noun is a noun made up of two already existing words. The list of compound words in English is growing constantly. When it comes to compound nouns in the possessive form, both style guides require that the last word of the compound take on an ‘s, which in this case is time.  

Take the chance to see how well you caught onto apostrophes. Play Two Lies and a Plural.

If you’re looking for even more, take your chances with the Apostrophe Mystery Challenge.