Apostrophe use and capitals.

[Tony W]

Hi guys. Just a quick question regarding apostrophes in plurals.

Is it 1980's or 1980s ?

BMW's or BMWs ?

[Big Dave]

Fooey never used a Malaprop,
but he was a syntax skewer.

Now it seems he cannot stop,
and coherent thoughts are fewer.

They better let him at the crop,
of new students even sooner.

Or mum'll have him down the shop
battering the Tuna.

[mstriumph]

Seems right but god knows what the rest means.



Skyryder

.... rather depends if you are Lewis Carrol [the author] or Humpty Dumpty [in his writing]

Carroll said that his poem literally translated as "It was evening, and the smooth active badgers were scratching and boring holes in the hill-side; all unhappy were the parrots; and the grave turtles squeaked out"

Humpty Dumpty, on the other hand, gave Alice the following interpretations:-

'Brillig' ..... four o' clock in the afternoon--the time when you begin broiling things for dinner."
'slithy' .... a combination of 'lithe' and 'slimy'
'toves' ... a cross between a badger, a lizard and a corkscrew [very fond of cheese, they are]
to 'gyre' is to emulate a gyroscope
to 'gimble' is to make holes like a gimlet


................ i have more if you'd like?..

[gijoe1313]

Fooey never used a Malaprop,
but he was a syntax skewer.

Now it seems he cannot stop,
and coherent thoughts are fewer.

They better let him at the crop,
of new students even sooner.

Or mum'll have him down the shop
battering the Tuna.

Quoth the Rider nevermore!
Riding in leathers, black and sleek

From pages of magazine his ideas peek,
His paid for riding, a burdensome chore -

Tall and handsome, visage terrible to behold
A paragon of riding, tales to be told

He appears here and there, elusive pimpernel,
Oh! The insight to steeds of riding he can tell!

Quoth the Rider nevermore!
And somewhere a keyboard goes a tap, tap, tapping ...

On GPS he locates his rides and does the mapping,
And for quotes and content he is not lacking,

Quoth the Rider nevermore -
Champion of riding, legend of folk and yore.

[Hitcher]

Hi guys. Just a quick question regarding apostrophes in plurals.

Is it 1980's or 1980s ?

BMW's or BMWs ?

1980s and BMWs, unless there is possession/ownership involved, e.g. 1980s' music or BMW's crap build quality.

And the space goes after punctuation, not before. Hyphens and slashes are not separated from the words either side by spacing, but dashes are.

[klingon]

Hi guys. Just a quick question regarding apostrophes in plurals.

Is it 1980's or 1980s ?

BMW's or BMWs ?

1980s
BMWs
Definitely. Unquestionably. Without a doubt.
There can be no debate on this subject because apostrophes are not optional.

By the way gijoe & Big Dave, you have me in complete hysterics here but I've run out of bling!

[Ripperjon]

1980s and BMWs, unless there is possession/ownership involved, e.g. 1980s' music or BMW's crap build quality.

or 1980's if you're referring to something belonging to / from the year 1980

[klingon]

...
Hyphens and slashes are not separated from the words either side by spacing, but dashes are.

to / from

:slap:

10 chars

[Daffyd]

1980s and BMWs, unless there is possession/ownership involved, e.g. 1980s' music or BMW's crap build quality.

Except for one word, "its". No apostrophe for the possessive, but it is used in place of the second "i" in "it is", hence, "It's cold out there." And "The cat licked its arse."

[klingon]

Except for one word, "its". No apostrophe for the possessive, but it is used in place of the second "i" in "it is", hence, "It's cold out there." And "The cat licked its arse."

troo, bro.

It can help to remember this if you think of the possessive as being part of a set:
His arse
Her arse
Its arse

None of them has an apostrophe. They all follow the same pattern.

love from
bdotgnza

[Ixion]

No i aint, i'm a yorkshireman

Well, that's worse !. Pig ignorant AND ikey !

[Ripperjon]

:slap:

10 chars

Oops! You'd never guess i took English and Journalism at college!
Good job i never followed up on it, eh?

[Big Dave]

Fooey laid the challenge down
and who could then refuse it?

His style and command are 're-noun'
but I'm game enough to muse it.

I enjoyed that heroic sound,
and no attempt t' refute it.

But let him think he owns the town,
in whatever tense is mooted.

Then when his guard come slightly down,
I'll 'adjective' him to bruises.

Aspersions wildly cast and thrown,
Ennui and questionable uses.

See this simple meter is just a pwn,
and is good enough for gooses.

But if you think the seeds are sewn,
for ongoing abuses,

know it's only just a clown,
and trust that it amuses.