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We do not, of course, use punctuation in speech, so contractions and possessives do not cause any problems in speech. Writing is a different matter. Both native speakers and ESL speakers often have problems with things like apostrophe placement. Apostrophes are not used (except for misuse) in possessive pronouns. Thus, with their, theirs, his, her, hers, your, yours and its no apostrophe should ever be used. Ever. Right: It's your turn. The first sentence is "short" for: "It is time for the turn that belongs to you." (It can be clearly seen why people prefer the shorter sentence.) Any questions? ;-) 6 CommentsLeave a comment | |
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suman
June 3, 2003 1:12 PM
What's the rule when we say 'I went to my grand ma's for dinnner' You know?
TDOL
June 7, 2003 6:55 PM
It's short for 'grandma's house'. ;-)
RonBee
June 7, 2003 7:59 PM
Re:
As TDOL noted, "grandma's" in that sentence is short for "grandmas' house." It is a form of ellipsis similar to "bachelor's" for "bachelor's degree".
Chris Jones
November 13, 2003 6:50 PM
What about "12 years experience"? Should there be an apostrophe after the s of years?
willbut
November 13, 2003 7:41 PM
Technicaly there should, but it's increasingly common not to use it.
Nighthawk rocks the english crap outta those noobs
October 12, 2005 8:19 AM
what about james's is it james' ?
and what about drivers? driver's or drivers' to signify ownership?