Possessives or Plurals ... That is the question ...

I'm in the middle of grading a slew of essays for another group of students, and it's making me a bit ... um ...

Well, let's just say, one of my pet peeves is being prodded (and you know what they say about poking a bear with a stick?).

It's this whole issue of possessives versus plurals. I wrote an entire blog about possessive use in April 2014 (please read it for even more detail), but because it is front of mind, I thought I'd post a quick refresher.

Possessive form is NOT the same as plural. Possessive form means ownership. Plural means more than one. They are not interchangeable. HOWEVER, there is such a thing as plural possessive (ownership by more than one)... have I confused you yet?

Let's take them one at a time.

Possessive form:

It is the student's book. (In other words, the book belongs to one student.)

Plural:

Several students bought their books. (In other words, more than one student bought books.)

Plural possessive:

The students' books are on the table, (In other words, the books of more than one student are on the table.)

It's really very simple.

So let's take a little quiz.

A student writes:

The stories theme is about fate.

Questions: Is she writing about multiples stories? Then the word stories should still be possessive, and the noun and verb need to be changed. Is she writing about a single story? Then the word stories should be single possessive.

If it's the first (multiple stories), then the sentence should be:

The stories' themes are about fate.

If it's the second (single story), the the sentence should be:

The story's theme is about fate.

Again, I go into much more detail in the entry I mentioned above. If this is something you struggle with, PLEASE review that entry.

Okay. I'm glad I got that off my chest. Now, back to grading!

Keep pen to paper!
Prof. Rinehart

I'm a bit ... possessive!

Sometimes, I am rather shocked when I see how some of my students seem to have forgotten ... or were never taught ... what I think are just basic grammar concepts.

One of these is possessives ... a simple use of a tiny piece of punctuation. Leaving out a simple apostrophe makes a HUGE difference, yet many students don't seem to use it correctly. Without that simple apostrophe, your reader usually thinks you're writing a plural noun.

For example:

I need to buy my dog's food. This means I need to buy the food that belongs to my one and only dog.

VERSUS

I need to buy my dogs food. This means I need to buy food for two or more dogs.

See the difference? Without the possessive form, you can cause confusion for your reader, and what do I often say? The only way you can tell your reader what you want him to know is how you use your words.

Making words possessive is really very simple.

Use #1:

When you have a singular noun that does NOT end in an -s, add an apostrophe AND an -s:

It is my dog's toy.
The girl's hat is cute.
Marie's dress is lovely.

Use #2:

When you have a singular noun that DOES end in an -s ... well, opinions differ about this. Some recommend that an apostrophe and an -s be added to common nouns (e.g., the class's homework, the bus's schedule), but only an apostrophe to proper nouns (e.g., Jones' car, Ross' computer). Others adhere to the "sound" rule: If when you speak out loud, you'd pronounce the -s, then put the apostrophe AND the -s; otherwise, just put the -s.  For example:

You might not say Mrs. Herringses house, so you would write Mrs. Herrings' house.
However, you might say Mr. Joneses boat, so you would write Mr. Jones's boat.

The main "rule of thumb" is to be consistent.

Use #3:

When you have a plural noun that does NOT end with an -s, add an apostrophe AND an -s:

The children's playground is not open.
The women's club meets on Tuesdays.

Use #4:

When you have a plural noun that DOES end with an -s, add an apostrophe ONLY:

The classes' schedules are now posted.
The dogs' water bowls are empty.

Use #5:

When two or more nouns possess the same thing, add an apostrophe AND an -s to the last noun listed:

Karen and Tom's house is for sale.
The coach and the team's bus is late.

EXCEPTIONS:

Apostrophes are NOT used with possessive pronouns: yours, ours, theirs, his, hers, its.

NOTE: Don't confuse the contractions you're (you are) and it's (it is) with their possessive forms yours and its.

You're going to buy your car from whom?
It's the dog playing with its toy.

I can't encourage you enough to keep an eye out for this simple concept. It will make such a difference in your writing!

Keep pen to paper!

Prof. Rinehart

All that pesky punctuation PART 1 (end punctuation, apostrophes, quotation marks)

Happy Friday!

I hope your week has gone well.

Last week, we looked at the common uses of commas. Today, we're going to take look at most other commonly-used punctuation marks.

Why is punctuation so important? The meaning of your sentence can change dramatically depending on the punctuation you use (or don't use). For example, in the book Eat, Shoots & Leaves, the author tells the story of a panda that goes into a restaurant, and after eating, he pulls out a gun and shoots it. The bewildered waiter asks, "Why did you do that?" The panda pulls out a wildlife magazine [from where, I'm not certain] and points to an article. "See?" he says. "This article says that a panda eats, shoots, and leaves." "Umm," says the waiter. "I believe there's a faulty comma here. It should say, 'A panda eats shoots and leaves.'"

Get it?

I've said before that the only way we writers can communicate to our readers is the words we use ... and the way we use them.

So let's look at how you can communicate to your readers by the simple use of punctuation:

Periods are hard stops that let your reader know your sentence is complete.

Exclamation points show excitement or anxiety. I can't believe you bought me a car!

Question marks ... Well, this one is clear, isn't it?

Apostrophes have two uses:

1) They show possession. The blue BMW is Scott's car.
2) They facilitate contractions. I don't want to go to the store.

IMPORTANT KEY: Two notable exceptions are the pronouns it and you. The possessive form of it is its; it's is the contraction it is. The possessive form of you is your; you're is the contraction you are.

Quotation marks indicate dialog or a quote that will be cited. Always use double quotation marks.

Sharon said, "I want to go to the store."

Discussing the importance of proper punctuation, Professor Rinehart wrote, "The meaning of your sentence can change dramatically depending on the punctuation you use (or don't use)."

NOTE: Single quotation marks are used only with quotes within quotes. I have an example of this at the end of the panda story.
IMPORTANT KEY: Periods and commas always go inside of quotation marks UNLESS you're using a citation. If I were including a citation (and I'm using MLA here) with the above quote, I'd write:

Discussing the importance of proper punctuation, Professor Rinehart wrote, "The meaning of your sentence can change dramatically depending on the punctuation you use (or don't use)" (Writing Is Painless).

On the other hand, where you place exclamation points and question marks are determined by the meaning of your sentence.

If either is part of the quotation, then it goes inside of the quotation mark.

Susan asked, "Where is the remote?"
Lisa cried, "I lost my phone!"

If either is not part of the quotation, then it does outside of the quotation mark.

Was it John who said, "I don't agree"?
I was so excited when I heard you say, "I'll be home Thursday"!

If I were standing in front of you, this would be the time I'd ask, "Any questions?" If you have some, feel free to comment! I'll get back to you by next Friday, at the latest.

Next week, we'll finish up punctuation marks, including semi-colons, colons, hyphens, m-dashes, and more!

Keep pen to paper!

Prof. Rinehart