Apostrophes

Apostrophes are used to show possession (never plurals! I always make my students recite "I will not use an apostrophe to make things plural!"), but sometimes remembering the right way to use apostrophes can be confusing. Eddie wrote to us asking how to help explain to his 8 year old son how to use the apostrophes that appear in a few words on his son's spelling list. Excellent question!

To show ownership with a singular noun, add an apostrophe and then an "s"

e.g. My sister's hat is pretty. (Without the apostrophe, we would say "The hat of my sister is pretty.")

To show ownership with a plural noun, put the apostrophe after the "s" that is already there.

e.g. My two sisters' hats are very pretty. ( Without the apostrophe, we would say "The hats that belong to my two sisters are pretty.")

When the plural word does not have an "s" ending, just add the apostrophe and the "s" like you would with a singular word.

e.g. The children's hats were very pretty. (Without the apostrophe, we would say "The hats of the children were very pretty.")

Finally, if you have a singular name that ends in an "s" you still need a second "s" after the apostrophe.

e.g. Chris's hat was not pretty. (Without the apostrophe, "The hat that belongs to Chris is not pretty.")

Exception: Famous historical/religious figures sometimes get away without the second "s"

e.g. Jesus' deeds were described in the homily this week. (Without the apostrophe, "The deeds of Jesus were described in the homily this week.")

If your son has difficulty determining whether the sentence wants a plural word (no apostrophe) or a possessive word (apostrophe), have him try the "of" test. If you can insert "of" in the sentence, like I have done with some of the examples above, then you want an apostrophe. If you cannot, then the word is just plural, and there is no apostrophe needed.

And, of course, apostrophes are used to make contractions, like "I'm," "don't," and "can't."

Pop quiz for all you smarties out there: Why doesn't the possessive form of "its" take an apostrophe?
Post your response in the comments section!

History Versus Grammar

Perhaps one can go too far on the vigilante grammar path....

Typo Vigilantes Banned from National Parks

Too Quiet?

So why have the Syntax Sisters gone quiet? We are quiet because we are waiting to hear from you!

We need your questions! Email us at syntaxsisters@yahoo.com and then watch for a response!

Out of fashion? We think not.

For all of you out there who think anti-split infinitive types like us are old fashioned, have a look at this article from The Washington Post and see if you change your mind:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/19/AR2008061902920.html

(Even if you don't change your mind, you're still wrong.)

A little punctuation game we like to play...

I can remember being in middle school sitting around the dinner table while my high school aged sister and her future husband debated a question raised by my father: what are the eleven punctuation marks? The debate has continued for many many years, and occasionally one of us will get a phone call from our father with that same question: What are the eleven punctuation marks?

Test yourself. What are they? Post responses in the comments section...that's where my answer is going.

PS No cheating and looking at the keyboard; figure it out first!

A Kindred Spirit

The syntax sisters might be in love (don't tell our husbands)!

This man travels the country with a sign-correcting kit, fixing spelling and apostrophes. Check out this news clip of "The Typo Tour":

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=7301819

Can I Get a Vowel? Gray v. Grey

Mary and her colleagues at the Hobart and William Smith Admissions office in Geneva, NY, (my alma mater!) emailed to ask us about the spelling of the word "gray."

"My colleague and I were wondering why some folks spell gray with an "a" and some spell it with an "e" - grey? I looked it up on dictionary.com and it looks like it is interchangeable? Who is correct?"

This is a great question. I called Daniele for confirmation and clarification on the answer:

It turns out that "gray" with an "a" is the usual American spelling of the word. In fact, when I spell-checked my return email to Mary, the software yelled at me for "grey" with an "e." The origin of the "e" verision is British; "grey" is the commonly accepted British spelling.

In every dictionary I've checked, however, it seems as though either spelling is acceptable.

So, I guess the spelling really comes down to a matter of patriotism: "a" for America!