Answers
1) Due to heavy rains the CET achievers'/achievers's meet was postponed to the next weekend.
2) India should not play a second fiddle to the US but protect its interest.[it's is an abbreviation for it is]
3) One must learn to keep one's promise.
4) It is so far the biggest party in the 2000s. [ Plural of number should be without an apostrophe.However single digit number plural is expressed with an apostrophe 2's,3's etc]
5) Some of his children have Ph.Ds [abbreviations do not take an apostrophe to show the plural unless written as Ph.D where also it takes the 's' without the apostrophe sign]
Theory for the usage of the apostrophe
Generally students attribute the usage of the apostrophe sign to indicate possession. But a closer look at the placement of the apostrophe reveals something else.
Carefully look at what the apostrophe connotes in the following examples:
It’s means it is; here the apostrophe stands for a missing i
I’m means I am ; here the apostrophe stands for a missing a
Ma’am means madam; here the apostrophe stands for a missing d
2o’clock means 2 of the clock ; here the apostrophe stands for a missing f
In all these cases an apostrophe simply means a word or a letter missing [traditionally an apostrophe was always used to indicate a letter missing]. So possibly in the usage Sneha’s bag the apostrophe could mean a missing word. Since this phrase means the bag belongs to Sneha it could mean a missing her. How?
This can be traced to a different word order that was a characteristic of old English. Sneha’s bag was written as Sneha her bag/John’s bag was written as John his bag.So an apostrophe with Sneha or John was used to indicate a missing his/her.Since his and her indicate possession the apostrophe with a noun getst its current meaning that of indicating possession.
On this basis all the rules regarding the usage of the apostrophe can be explained. Here are few of them:
Inanimate objects do not take an apostrophe (possessive pronouns can be used only for animate objects because only animate objects can possess)
Possessive pronouns like hers, yours do not take an apostrophe (would lead to duplication)
Words ending in the sound ‘s’ are followed only by the sign [‘] ( to prevent the hissing sound during pronunciation) e.g. Keats’, Charles’
Be a budding etymologist,come fall in love with words and the English language
Ma'am according to (2), is it always 90s and not 90's?
ReplyDeleteIt's a very detailed and articulate post Ma'am. In fact the entire blog is very useful. I have always loved English and you simply inspire me to work harder :)
Ooops, I just realized it was acc. to (4) and not (2) :)
ReplyDeleteDear Priyanka,
ReplyDeleteThanx for the compliments.As for your query it is 90s and not 90's :)
good work.. keep it up..
ReplyDeletetheory given was useful..
expecting some theoretical explanation for coming quizzes also
Dear Anonymous (plz mention your name),
ReplyDeleteThanx for the comments.It motivates and also gives me a feedback that people actally read the explanation.Will surely keep adding value through these quizzes and the blog.
Dear mam, why is it not PhDs.
ReplyDeleteDear Chetan,
ReplyDeleteI really don't hv a concrete answer but can guess.Ph.D stands for doctor of philosophy.Since philosophy is an uncountable noun there is no plural form for the same [though there is a word called philosophies but the meaning changes].One can though say doctors of philosophy and hence may be the above rule;
Thanx ma'am
ReplyDeleteExplanation is very helpful for us..
hi ma'am while mentioning a country dont we write her. eg:india should protect her rights? etc. pls. explain ma'am. and of course the quiz was nice!!!
ReplyDelete