{"id":1545,"date":"2014-05-19T18:36:13","date_gmt":"2014-05-20T00:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=1545"},"modified":"2020-11-25T10:32:57","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T16:32:57","slug":"apostrophes-and-false-possessives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/effective-writing\/apostrophes-and-false-possessives\/","title":{"rendered":"Apostrophes and False Possessives"},"content":{"rendered":"

In English, nouns become adjectives all the time: a computer\u2019s <\/em>malfunction is also called a computer <\/em>malfunction. One of Shakespeare\u2019s<\/em> plays is a Shakespeare <\/em>play.<\/p>\n

Consider the sentence Beverly Hills\u2019 weather is mild<\/em>. Like computer\u2019s<\/em> and Shakespeare\u2019s <\/em>in the previous paragraph, Beverly Hills\u2019 <\/em>is a possessive noun. But we could turn it into an adjective by removing the apostrophe: Beverly Hills weather is mild<\/em>. Same with Abe Jones\u2019s campaign is picking up steam<\/em>\u2014we could also say The Abe Jones campaign is picking up steam<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Few would argue with the apostrophe in The Beatles\u2019 place in pop music history is assured<\/em>. But how would you write this sentence: There are still countless <\/em>Beatles<\/em><\/strong>\/<\/em>Beatles\u2019<\/em><\/strong> fans out there<\/em>. Although many would choose Beatles\u2019 fans<\/em>, it should be Beatles fans<\/em>\u2014no apostrophe\u2014because the sentence has turned Beatles <\/em>into an adjective modifying fans <\/em>rather than a possessive noun.<\/p>\n

There are times when the distinction is trivial. There is no significant difference between General Motors cars are selling <\/em>and General Motors\u2019 cars are selling<\/em>. But if you were to write We visited the General Motors\u2019<\/em> plant in Wentzville<\/em>, you\u2019d be using a possessive noun where only an adjective should go.<\/p>\n

Notice that the four examples above involve the nouns Hills<\/em>, Jones<\/em>, Beatles<\/em>, and Motors<\/em>. Nouns ending in s<\/em> can tempt rushed or distracted writers to add a possessive apostrophe for no good reason. Many writers, including most journalists, add only an apostrophe to show possession when a proper noun ends in s<\/em>. On a bad day, this can result in silly phrases like a Texas\u2019 barbecue joint<\/em>, a Sally Hawkins\u2019 movie<\/em>, or even the St. Regis\u2019 Hotel<\/em>, in which the apostrophes are indefensible.<\/p>\n

Those who write such things would never dream of writing a Chicago\u2019s barbecue joint<\/em>, a George Clooney\u2019s movie<\/em>, or the Fairmont\u2019s Hotel<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So whenever writers are of a mind to add a possessive apostrophe to a noun ending in s<\/em>, they might first try swapping that word with one that ends in a different letter. If the result is nonsense, they\u2019ll have ample time to revise the sentence and save themselves some embarrassment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/strong>
\nMend any sentences that need fixing.<\/p>\n

1. Julie Andrews singing in My Fair Lady<\/em> was some of her best work.
\n2. She is a fanatical Rolling Stones\u2019 fan.
\n3. Nigel takes a Thomas Hobbes\u2019 approach to life.
\n4. Yolanda Adams music is infectious.
\n5. It was a Black Keys\u2019 performance for the ages.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Julie Andrews\u2019s<\/em> singing in My Fair Lady<\/em> was some of her best work. (some would write Andrews\u2019<\/em>)
\n2. She is a fanatical Rolling Stones<\/em> fan.
\n3. Nigel takes a Thomas Hobbes<\/em> approach to life.
\n4. \u201cYolanda Adams<\/em> music,\u201d \u201cYolanda Adams\u2019s<\/em> music,\u201d and \u201cYolanda Adams\u2019<\/em> music\u201d would all be acceptable.
\n5. It was a Black Keys<\/em> performance for the ages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In English, nouns become adjectives all the time: a computer\u2019s malfunction is also called a computer malfunction. One of Shakespeare\u2019s plays is a Shakespeare play. Consider the sentence Beverly Hills\u2019 weather is mild. Like computer\u2019s and Shakespeare\u2019s in the previous paragraph, Beverly Hills\u2019 is a possessive noun. But we could turn it into an adjective […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,12,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apostrophes","category-effective-writing","category-possessives"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}