Crosswords1 min ago
Apostrophes
9 Answers
Not really lierature; more grammar but I hope some student of English can help. Where (if anywhere) should the apostrophe denoting possession be put in:
1) compound plural nouns e.g. Adjutant-General: plural Adjutants-General, so where does the apostrophe go for Adjutants-General cars i.e. the cars of the Adjutants-General?
2) plurals not ending in "s" e.g. escape-from-parents chidrens days i.e. days for children, when they can escape from their parents?
1) compound plural nouns e.g. Adjutant-General: plural Adjutants-General, so where does the apostrophe go for Adjutants-General cars i.e. the cars of the Adjutants-General?
2) plurals not ending in "s" e.g. escape-from-parents chidrens days i.e. days for children, when they can escape from their parents?
Answers
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.If the car belongs to the Adjutants-General (whatever those are :-) ) then surely it must be Adjutants-General's car ? Confusion comes when someone comes up with a weird situation where a plural has not put the s on the end, where any normal person would expect it.
Children are already plural. Escape-from-parents chidren's days seems right to me.
Children are already plural. Escape-from-parents chidren's days seems right to me.
Except that something like 'the Joneses' golf clubs is a bit suspect, because there are those (including me) who say it should be 'the Jones' golf clubs'. But it's a matter of preference and convention, I think, and as long as you're consistent then either is acceptable.
So what you should be doing, Clanky, is writing about a group of adjutants-general and a children's day (because 'children' is a collective noun, i.e. there is just one group referred to, and therefore, for the purposes of this context, is singular).
So what you should be doing, Clanky, is writing about a group of adjutants-general and a children's day (because 'children' is a collective noun, i.e. there is just one group referred to, and therefore, for the purposes of this context, is singular).