Discussion Forum
This is a forum to discuss the gray areas of the English language for which you would not find answers easily in dictionaries or other reference books.
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Latest Posts : Punctuation and Mechanics
If you are talking about something that belongs to someone, but want to clarify who that person is, where does the apostrophe go? Is it “Bryan, my brother’s, car,” or “Bryan’s, my brother’s, car,” or what? Or can you just not say that?
If there is a family with the last name of Jones, and you want to talk about the family, you say the Joneses. But what if you want to talk about something that belongs to them. Is it “I’m going to the Joneses’ for dinner?” Because that would be pronounced Jonziziz.
When indicating that either one or more than one of something is envisioned, the “(s)” is normally added to the end of the word, such as “team(s)”. When using an apostrophe to indicate the possessive, the location of the apostrophe is placed either before or after the final “s” depending whether the word is meant to be singular or plural, such as “team’s” or “teams’”. Should the apostrophe be placed before or after the “(s)” to indicate the possessive quality of the team(s) ?
When identifying an acronym, I have always simply placed that acronym or abbreviation in parenthesis following the phrase. For example: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). I have now been told to also place quotation marks inside the acronym, for example (”LAX”), but this does not appear correct to me. Is there a rule for when such use of quotation marks is correct?
So, I wrote this email to my girlfriend that went:
Have fun in your meeting (or don’t have fun at all!).
That leaves me with an awkward feeling; an exclamation mark, a parenthesis, and a period to end off my sentence. Can I do that and still be correct?
On the computer keyboard, in the upper left hand side, right below the escape button. What are these?: ~ ` And, what are they used for?
Thank you.
I work in a sign shop and am putting the name “The Jonses” on a trailer - the customer says it should be The Jones’s - I say The Jones’ Which is correct?
I work for the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System, or LASERS as it is commonly known.
My question concerns the correct usage of an apostrophe after LASERS, in instances such as:
LASERS website the LASERS website LASERS members the LASERS agencies LASERS agencies LASERS retiree billing, etc.
It seems as though it should be used in some cases, but not in others. We are very confused and would like to have your modern input on this unique situation.
Thank you very much.
What is the correct spelling of the thing that gets you a job and what is the name of the funny thing on top (grave or acute) of the the letter e?
Is just s or ‘s used with acronyms? Like MBAs or MBA’s and SWPPP’s or SWPPPs
Is the rule always the same for all acronyms or are there variations?
