proper usage of an apostrophe

Shouldn't the title of this thread be:

proper use of an apostrophe

or

proper apostrophe usage

Hmmm? Input?

Sorry Sorcha, calling you on this one. Page 1 of The Elements of Style:

1. Form the possessive singular of nouns by addings 's.

Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write,

Charles's friend
Burns's poems
the witch's malice


Personally, I prefer Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers, but The Elements of Style will do in a pinch.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it should be illegal to revive a grammar thread on this site. call the cops.

Somebody should do one of these on the semicolon. Those really fuck me up.

British Apostrophe usage:

1) Contractions
1a) Not clipped words - eg gym, not gym'.
1b) Not abbreviations - eg BC, not B'C'.
1c) This includes some names: O'Leary
1d) Dates: the '70s.

2) Unusual plurals
2a) NOT pizza's, not three Steve's.
2b) Plural dates do not require an apostrophe: eg the 1970s.
2ba) US usage would require an apostrope for plural dates, the 1970's.
2c) plural numbers : either 1's or 1s is acceptable.
2ca) expaning 1's would get ones, not one's
2d) plural letters: mind your p's and q's

3) Possessives
2a) dan's post, demetrius's post, james's job.fr5
2b) a plural noun ending in s only takes a following apostrophe: the girls' excitement, both players' injuries
2ba) note a plural noun not ending in s has the normal apostrophe: children's shoes
2c) a name ending in s only take an apostrophe if the possessive form is not pronounced with an extra s: Socrates' philosophy
2d) POSSESSIVE ITS HAS NO APOSTROPHE

Names is tricky because it's style, not grammar rules. At the moment, in the UK, any modern (including biblical) name ending in S has an additional s after the apostrophe. Names from the ancient world do not; Achilles' heel. Names with an 'iz' sound do not; Moses' tablets. Jesus is always Jesus' disciples.

But, like I say, this is style not grammar rules and the style guide you use might be different.

The semicolon is used to join two complete sentences into a single written sentence when all of the following conditions are met:

• The two sentences are felt to be too closely related to b separated by a full stop;


• There is no connecting word which would require a comma, such as and or but;


• The special conditions requiring a colon are absent.

So, you can say:
It was the bet of times. It was the worst of times. Or:
It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. Or:
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.