Like a lover you come to know expertly over time, we have now come to know the apostrophe intimately. We have seen it from many different angles and in many different lights. We’ve looked at the rule of Its and It’s, and the rule of indicating possessives, but there are still a few uses of the apostrophe that we haven’t explored.
But first, let’s get reacquainted with some old friends. In 2002, the Australian show Popstars manufactured a pop group called Scandal’us. Here they are, touching each other in a suggestive way. A year earlier, the UK version of the same show produced a band called Hear’Say.
But first, let’s get reacquainted with some old friends. In 2002, the Australian show Popstars manufactured a pop group called Scandal’us. Here they are, touching each other in a suggestive way. A year earlier, the UK version of the same show produced a band called Hear’Say.
Band names like this say a lot about how little we understand apostrophes. The apostrophe has a group of vital functions in grammar and language. If it was a person, it would be the head of a laboratory that was researching climate change, or an award- winning journalist who had been reporting on government corruption. It would be an important person, but a very serious one. It definitely would not be happy to be thrown into a dodgy pop group’s name by their manager as some sort of pretend rebellion against society.
MC Grammar believes that it’s no coincidence that both these bands had disrespect for the apostrophe, and that they both broke up within a year of winning the Popstars competition. Sadly, at least one of these people now sleeps with Kyle Sandilands, and MC Grammar thinks that in a way, that’s also karmic retribution for mistreating the apostrophe. Don’t let that happen to you. Follow the simple rules for using apostrophes.
1. It indicates time or quantity.
In one week’s time
Or, if the amount of time or quantity is plural:
Two weeks’ notice
Four metres’ worth of rope
2. It indicates the omission if figures in dates
It was the summer of ‘69
3. It indicates the omission of letters
I come from Jo’burg.
I hadn’t thought of that.
She should’ve thrown this out.
Where is the cat-o’-nine-tails?
Bear in mind that there are lots of words that are shortenings of other words, but have become so common in their own right that it’s not necessary to use an apostrophe to indicate the part that’s been left off. For example, phone is a shortening of telephone, and fridge is a shortening of refrigerator, but this is an example where the punctuation isn’t needed because the meaning doesn’t get lost without it.
4. It features in Irish names such as O’Reilly and O’Malley.
5. It indicates the plurals of letters,
Such as: How many t’s are there in attachment?
The apostrophe can also be sometimes be used to indicated non-standard English, like in ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ when the gamekeeper speaks vernacular English, while Lady Chatterley doesn’t. For example, he says,
If yer want ter be ‘ere, yo’ll non want me messin’ abaht a’ th’ time
But this isn’t a hard and fast rule. Just do what your heart tells you.
MC Grammar believes that it’s no coincidence that both these bands had disrespect for the apostrophe, and that they both broke up within a year of winning the Popstars competition. Sadly, at least one of these people now sleeps with Kyle Sandilands, and MC Grammar thinks that in a way, that’s also karmic retribution for mistreating the apostrophe. Don’t let that happen to you. Follow the simple rules for using apostrophes.
1. It indicates time or quantity.
In one week’s time
Or, if the amount of time or quantity is plural:
Two weeks’ notice
Four metres’ worth of rope
2. It indicates the omission if figures in dates
It was the summer of ‘69
3. It indicates the omission of letters
I come from Jo’burg.
I hadn’t thought of that.
She should’ve thrown this out.
Where is the cat-o’-nine-tails?
Bear in mind that there are lots of words that are shortenings of other words, but have become so common in their own right that it’s not necessary to use an apostrophe to indicate the part that’s been left off. For example, phone is a shortening of telephone, and fridge is a shortening of refrigerator, but this is an example where the punctuation isn’t needed because the meaning doesn’t get lost without it.
4. It features in Irish names such as O’Reilly and O’Malley.
5. It indicates the plurals of letters,
Such as: How many t’s are there in attachment?
The apostrophe can also be sometimes be used to indicated non-standard English, like in ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ when the gamekeeper speaks vernacular English, while Lady Chatterley doesn’t. For example, he says,
If yer want ter be ‘ere, yo’ll non want me messin’ abaht a’ th’ time
But this isn’t a hard and fast rule. Just do what your heart tells you.
Hi MC Grammar! I really love your blog and your ability to convey complex gramatical rules in simple, street prose. Ever since I've read your blog I've been impressing all my friends with my ability to bust out gramatically correct rhymes in our freestyle battles. This is all thanks to you.
ReplyDeleteI just have one thing to point out - there's a typo in Point 2. It reads "the omission IF figures in dates".
Keep up the teachings and can't wait for your next entry!
Ice-G (the G stands for Grammar!)
Thanks Ice-G! you have spotted MC Grammar's first typo!(Well the first that we know of.)I'd love to say that I put it in there deliberately, but I'm just not that crafty. Keep up the good work: I'd love to compile a list of my own spelling/grammar mistakes in a post soon.
ReplyDelete