Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Today's topic is tough apostrophe issues. Lu-Sean grammar I sometime use apostrophes after a description/shortform in parentheses, e.g. "They had posted the Hilton (formerly known as Ritz Carlton)'s room rate on the site." or "American International Group (AIG)'s plans to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in executive bonuses have enraged many Americans." Is this ever allowed? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=16196#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=16196#Comments Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:51:34 GMT Albert grammar Nikki may be correct when she says that Jane Austen used the apostrophe in words like "her's" and your's" [...there is a part of me that wishes we'd go back to using the possessive apostrophe in words like her's, their's, your's. It was good enough for Jane Austen, then I'm all for it.] But, if the apostrophe were being used to show the equivalent to "of me", "of you", etc, then surely the pronouns would be "me's", "you's", "her's", "him's", etc? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=11992#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=11992#Comments Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:24:52 GMT Julia grammar Regarding Richard's comment: The subject of names on or around family homes and mailboxes etc. has come up recently in my world. For years, I've been annoyed every time I've seen a sign outside of a house that said something to the effect of "the Hathaway's." My understanding is that if the sign is implying "this is the house belonging to the Hathaways," it should read "the Hathaways'." If the sign is to mean "this is the house belonging to Hathaway (one guy named Hathaway), the "Hathway's part of the sign would be correct, but the "the" would make no sense. Can someone address this and let me know if I'm right or not? I would feel retroactively stupid for all the times I've corrected people on this, but, for my own peace of mind, would like to know. Thanks so much for this site; I love it! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10576#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10576#Comments Wed, 05 Dec 2007 22:53:08 GMT Lize Lubbe grammar How does one show possession for the word "business"? It belongs to the business, therefore it is the business's Is this correct? Please help. Lize, Cape Town South Africa http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10554#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10554#Comments Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:53:35 GMT Grammar Girl grammar JS, an apostrophe is a different mark from an opening or closing single quotation mark (even though an apostrophe looks just like a closing single quotation mark). You use an apostrophe to indicate that letters are missing in a word like "'em," (and an apostrophe looks like a closing single quotation mark). I feel as if I'm being a little argumentative here, but the answer really is to use an apostrophe -- neither the opening or closing single quotation mark are correct. An apostrophe only faces one way. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10368#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10368#Comments Sun, 25 Nov 2007 04:29:47 GMT Grammar Girl grammar Bob, I just covered your question about whether companies should be referred to as "who" or "that." (In general, a company is a "that.") http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10367#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10367#Comments Sun, 25 Nov 2007 04:18:48 GMT Grammar Girl grammar Paul, Yes, the way you are writing possessives is incorrect. It should be "Dad's car," for example. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10366#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10366#Comments Sun, 25 Nov 2007 04:15:59 GMT Bob grammar In Kevin's comment of 12/22/2006,"We are a professional transcription service company who specialize in providing tailored transcription service to the podcasters." What's the rule on use of "who" or "that"? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10311#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10311#Comments Thu, 22 Nov 2007 20:05:26 GMT TL Lull grammar What's that you smell? Meaning: What is it that you smell? I found this usage in the Nov. 2007 POPULAR SCIENCE magazine on page 52, just prior to the end of the first paragraph. So...O' Apostrophy O' Apostrophy how could you let them do you for two...(sic) http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10230#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10230#Comments Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:40:36 GMT Paul grammar Back in the early 60's I was taught to show possession as follows: Pauls' toy, Dads' car. Is this incorrect? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10198#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx?commentid=10198#Comments Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:11:24 GMT Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:51:34 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/apostrophe-1.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us