4.2 Apostrophes
An apostrophe can be confusing, what with possessives (“According to the government’s own data...”) and plurals (“The workers’ movements in India...”) and omissions (don’t; I’m).
For general rules of the use of apostrophes, see: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/apostrophe
•For words ending in ‘s’: don’t use an additional ‘s’.
○Example
>Correct: The US’ prison industrial complex.
>Incorrect: The US’s prison industrial complex.
•For plural nouns: don’t use an additional ‘s’.
○Examples
>The publishers’ books are in the stores (if referring to more than one publisher).
>But sometimes, it’s better to simply switch the sequence.
So instead of saying: The Sunderbans’ ecosystem is under severe pressure.
–you can say: The ecosystem of the Sunderbans is under severe pressure.
•Places, organisations and publications: the same rule as above applies when the name of a place, or an organisation, or a publication is a plural form ending in ‘s’ even if the entity is singular.
○Examples
Places:
>The Dangs’ multi-layered communities are in turmoil.
–Or (preferred usage):
>The multi-layered communities of the Dangs are in turmoil.
Organisations:
>The Centre of Indian Trade Unions’ strategy for confronting the government’s economic policies is complex and elaborate.
– Or (preferred usage):
>The strategy of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions for confronting the government’s economic policies is complex and elaborate.
Publications:
>The New York Times’ review was harsh.
–This can be switched to:
>The New York Times gave the book a harsh review.
Note: the apostrophe after a publication’s name is usually not italicised.
•People’s names: when indicating the possessive for people’s names, use an apostrophe followed by an ‘s’ even when the person’s name ends in ‘s’ or another sibilant.
○Example
>Tejas’s letter is in the mail.
•Numbers: the plural of numerals is formed by adding an ‘s’. No apostrophe is needed before the number or before the ‘s’.
○Example
>He was in his 80s when he picked up a new skill.
•But when referring to an era/ decade in an abbreviated manner, it will be (for example) “the ’80s” – with an apostrophe before the number.
○Example
>It happened in the roaring ’20s.