Jane often said that many people have been taught incorrectly, so we’re confident her timeless tips can help us unlearn bad grammar habits!
Plural or Possessive Titles?
Is it Mother’s Club? Mothers’ Club? Mothers’ Club?
In a title, you may think of the noun as a plural or as a plural possessive. So Mothers Club or Mothers’ Club would both be correct.
Apostrophes with Words Ending in S
Is it class’ opinion or class’s opinion or classes’ opinion?
If you mean one class, it should be class’s opinion. If you mean more than one class, it should be classes’ opinion(s).
Rule 2 of Apostrophes from The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation says: Place the apostrophe before the s to show singular possession.
Examples: one class’s opinion; one girl’s opinion; Ms. Jones’s opinion; Mr. Cross’s opinion.
Rule 3 says: To show plural possession, make the noun plural first. Then use the apostrophe.
Example: The classes’ opinions were predictable according to their grade levels.
Example: The girls’ opinions differed.
Example: The Joneses’ house survived the flood.
Example: The Crosses’ house survived the flood.
Related: Apostrophes and Plural Family Names
Quoting a Question within a Question
When quoting a question within a question, where does the question mark go? Is the following correct?
Didn’t she say, “How did you do that?”?
In The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, Rule 3 of Quotation Marks says: When you have a question outside quoted material AND inside quoted material, use only one question mark and place it inside the quotation mark.
Example: Did she say, “May I go?”
Example: Didn’t she say, “How did you do that?”