wendy Posted December 1, 2004 Posted December 1, 2004 Originally posted by cosywolf Sorry, it's apostrophes. Without an 'i'. See? I just can't help myself. Oh, that's okay, here come the nice young men in their clean white coats.... Oops so it is! Oh well I don't type that word very often so it's easy done, but there, their and they're are common words that everyone uses but more people spell them wrong.
max Posted December 1, 2004 Posted December 1, 2004 Another common mistake which stops the flow of the written word is when people misuse fewer or less. See here for an explanation of the correct usage: Fewer or less.
Jamie Posted December 1, 2004 Posted December 1, 2004 I was wondering what the rules were, for using them (apostropes). When to not use one? (it was Davids bike). When to use one pefore the 's'? (it was David's bike). When to use one after the 's'? (it was Davids' bike).
wendy Posted December 1, 2004 Posted December 1, 2004 In the example you used Jamie you would use the second option. The first would simply make David plural and the last wouldn't really make sense in that context. Apostrophes are used to either replace silent letters - as I have used above with "wouldn't" or in your example it is used to denote belonging ie the bike belongs to David. There is another rule which the wording of escapes me at the moment but it relates to the use with plurals.
Jamie Posted December 1, 2004 Posted December 1, 2004 Originally posted by wendy In the example you used Jamie you would use the second option. The first would simply make David plural and the last wouldn't really make sense in that context. Thanks Wendy. So are the following correct? 1) David has a nice collection of Bikes. 2) David's bike was the best. Can anyone give an example of when to use the apostrope after the 's' !?
wendy Posted December 1, 2004 Posted December 1, 2004 Originally posted by Jamie Thanks Wendy. So are the following correct? 1) David has a nice collection of Bikes. 2) David's bike was the best. Can anyone give an example of when to use the apostrope after the 's' !? They look fine to me Jamie!
sheffexpat Posted December 1, 2004 Posted December 1, 2004 You use the apostrophe after the s when it's a plural possessive e.g. The boys' money was all gone. would mean that 3 or 4 boys had no money left....but.. The boy's money was all gone. would only apply to one boy. We use it mainly because it's awkward for people to pronounce the two"esses" together e.g. The girls's teacher is here. Does it cause confusion? Yes,if you only hear it in isolation----but then a lot of English grammar is confusing. "If I were you........".! Try explaining that to someone learning English when you've drummed it into them that "I" is singular and "were" is plural !
wendy Posted December 1, 2004 Posted December 1, 2004 Originally posted by alex123 You use the apostrophe after the s when it's a plural possessive e.g. The boys' money was all gone. would mean that 3 or 4 boys had no money left....but.. The boy's money was all gone. would only apply to one boy. We use it mainly because it's awkward for people to pronounce the two"esses" together e.g. The girls's teacher is here. Does it cause confusion? Yes,if you only hear it in isolation----but then a lot of English grammar is confusing. "If I were you........".! Try explaining that to someone learning English when you've drummed it into them that "I" is singular and "were" is plural ! Very well explained Alex - I just couldn't think how it was put!
H.P Posted December 1, 2004 Posted December 1, 2004 Thankyou for clearing that up for me. I suppose I am one of the guilty on this subject. Unfortunatly the schooling system let me down especially in the english dept. I will make a note and promise not to do it again
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