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AP style
More punctuation: apostrophes
and plurals (part 1)
Quick tip on apostrophes
• Just because a word ends in s, that doesn’t mean
it ends in ’s.
• For example: The Northpoint boy’s basketball
team beat Hillville 78-72 Tuesday night.
• How many boys are on the team in the example?
Words that do and don’t end in s
• Plural nouns not ending in s: add ’s.
- The alumni’s contribution; women’s rights.
• Singular nouns not ending in s: add ’s.
- The church’s needs; the girl’s toys; the horse’s
food; the VIP’s seat.
• Singular common nouns ending in s: add ’s
unless the next word begins with s
- The hostess’s invitation; the hostess’ seat
- The witness’s answer; the witness’ story
Both singular and plural
• For nouns that are plural in form, but singular,
add only an apostrophe.
- Mathematics’ rules; General Motors’ profits;
the United States’ wealth.
• Nouns that are same singular and plural: Treat
the same as plurals.
- One corps’ location. The two deer’s tracks.
Names
• Singular proper names ending in s: Use an
apostrophe
- Achilles’ heel
- Agnes’ book
- Dickens’ novels
- Jesus’ life
- Moses law
• Exception: St. James’s Palace
Pronouns
• No apostrophe with these: mine, ours, your,
yours, his, hers, its, theirs, whose
• Contractions: double check apostrophe by saying
the word out.
- It’s = it is. They’re = they are. There’s = there is
Compound words
• Add an apostrophe or ‘s to the word closest to
the object possessed.
• The major general’s decision. The major
generals’ decisions. The attorney general’s
request. The attorneys general’s request.
• Anyone else’s attitude. Benjamin Franklin of
Pennsylvania’s motion. Or: The motion by
Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania
Joint and individual possession
• Use a possessive form after only the last word if
ownership is joint:
- Fred and Sylvia’s apartment.
• Use the possessive form after both words if the
objects are individually owned:
- Fred’s and Sylvia’s books.
Descriptive phrases
• Do not add an apostrophe to a word ending in s
when it is used in a descriptive sense
- citizens band radio; a teachers college; Detroit
Tigers pitchers; a Teamsters request
• An ’s is required when the term is plural but
does not end in s
- a children’s hospital; a people’s republic; the
Young Men’s Christian Association
Descriptive names
• Some governmental, corporate and institutional
groups use an apostrophe in their name, some
do not. Follow the user’s practice:
- Actors’ Equity; Diners Club; The Ladies’ Home
Journal; the National Governors Association
• See the separate entries for each group to find
out what to use
Quasi possessives
• Same as the rules on previous slides:
- A day’s work. Two weeks’ vacation. Three days’
work.
• Hyphenated form may be clearer:
- A two-week vacation, a three-day job.
Omitted letters
• It is OK to use contractions, but avoid excessive
use of them. Those listed in the dictionary are
OK.
• Remember, say both words out if you aren’t sure
if it’s (it is) the correct usage.
• I’ve, it’s, don’t, rock ’n’ roll; ’tis the season
• Omitted figures: The class of ’6o is holding its
50th reunion. The ‘80s were an awful time for
music.
Plurals of a single letter
• Mind your p’s and q’s. He learned the three R’s
and brought home a report card with four A’s
and two B’s.
• The Oakland A’s won their division.
Plurals
• Most words, add an s: boy, boys.
• Words ending in ch, s, sh, ss, x and z: add es
- Churches, lenses, boxes. Except monarchs.
• Words ending in is: Change to an es
- Oasis, oases. Parenthesis, parentheses.
• Words ending in f: in general, change the f to v
and add es: Leaf, leaves. Self, selves. Roof, roofs
is an exception.
Plurals, continued
• Words ending in y: If y is preceded by a
consonant or qu, change y to i and add es:
Army, armies. Soliloquy, soliloquies.
• Words ending in o: If o is preceded by a
consonant, most plurals require es: buffalo,
buffaloes; hero, heroes.
- There are exceptions: piano, pianos. Check
individual entries in the book for exceptions.
Form change
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•
•
•
•
Man, men
Child, children
Foot, feet
Mouse, mice
When s is used with any of these words, it
indicates possession. Therefore, it must have an
’s: men’s store, children’s workshop.
Questions?