The Chairman of the Apostrophe Protection Society, John Richards, receives many enquiries by email to email@example.com regarding the correct use of the apostrophe in the English language. Below are some of the Frequently Asked Questions he has answered:
Can an inanimate object own something?
When considering the use of an apostrophe, possession involves of and for. Consider a notice outside a golf club: Captain’s parking space. The captain doesn’t own the space; it is a parking space for the captain.
In the case of this car’s colour is too bright the car doesn’t own the colour; it is the colour of the car.
Another example is men’s clothing or men’s wear. It is clothing for men.
Where should the apostrophe go if a word ends in an ‘s’ ?
The ending of the word is irrelevant. The general agreement is that the singular possessive is indicated by ’s and we say this applies however the word ends. Thus it should be James’s book, not James’ book, which is a plural possessive.
What if there are several people called James who share the book? The plural of James is Jameses and plural possession is denoted by s’ so it should be this is the Jameses’ book.
Should apostrophes be used after numbers or single letters?
Many people write I had four A’s in my exam or mind your p’s and q’s. We would say that the apostrophe is meaningless in these cases. I had four As and I will mind my ps and qs is perfectly clear and could hardly be misunderstood and no apostrophes have been misused.
If something is owned by, or relates to, two people where does the apostrophe go?
It generally goes on the second name as in John and Mary’s wedding or Bill and Sonia’s house. It would go on both only if it were not common to them, as in John’s and Mary’s houses were well designed.