Writing A-Z: A is for Apostrophe and Abecedary
It seems like it should pretty straightforward, but the use of the apostrophe is one of the “trickiest” punctuation marks of the English language!
One reason: it can be challenging because it is used to indicate either possession or the omission of a letter. The concept seems pretty straight-forward in situations like:
· Does not: doesn’t
· Do not: don’t
· I would: I’d
· I am: I’m
OR
Mary’s car; Jim’s coat.
Things become a bit more complicated when we refer to a possessive involving two or more people, such as a house that belongs to Jim and Mary: Jim and Mary’s house. However, in a case like this: Ben’s and Jerry’s dogs love treats, we’re referring to both Ben’s dog AND Jerry’s dog.
Possessive pronouns can cause even more confusion so remember, use its not it’s, yours not your’s, theirs not their’s.
An apostrophe also comes in handy when used to avoid confusion, as in the example of “dot your i’s and cross your t’s”; and for plurals of abbreviations: PhD’s.
When you do a bit of research, you realize that “official” style guides can differ on the rules! New York Times and Chicago style guides and the Associated Press often disagree! So, my best advice is to use your common sense, be consistent, and look up the rules to help you use your words the most effectively.
While we’re talking about words . . .
Abecedary (ey-bee-see-duh-ree) is a Late 16th century Latin word for the alphabet. It also refers to a poem that has each verse or line beginning with a different letter of the alphabet, in alphabetical order.
An abecedarian is either a novice or beginner at something, or someone who teaches the alphabet.
Aren’t words amazing? No wonder the English language is challenging to learn as a second language!
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