Apostrophes????

Question

Im typing a paper and I've become quite confused w/ apostrophes...for example:

"the publics viewpoints. . ."
-is it: public's? or publics' or none?

in what cases would you use xxxx's, xxxxs' and xxxxs?? I'm lost.

THANKS.

Answer 1

It would be "the public's viewpoint" -- as it is the viewpoint belonging to the public

although "the public" refers to multiple people it isn't actually a plural

you use xxxxxxxs to make a word plural e.g. apple --> some apples

you use xxxx's to indicate belonging. --> Rachel's apples (the apples beloning to Rachel)

xxxxs' is same but when the word that owns ends in it's own "s" ---> James' apples (the apples beloning to James)


P.S. Hands off my apples

P.P.S. I just read below someone wants to plural "people" to "peoples" I would say that "people" is already the plural of "person" and does not need to become "peoples"

Answer 2

The Public's Viewpoint

Answer 3

An apostrophe is normally used with the letter s to show ownership or possession.

With most singular nouns, simply add an apostrophe plus the letter s to do this.

An apostrophe plus s is never added to make a noun plural--even a proper noun.

Incorrect: This is Joans jacket.
(Possessive form needs the apostrophe)
Correct: This is Joan's jacket.

To make most nouns plural, add an -s or -es. The -es is added to words that end in an s or z sound.

Do not use an apostrophe.


Examples: lands dresses taxes quizzes
Incorrect: Twenty dog's were in the pack.

Correct: Twenty dogs were in the pack.


To show that more than one person share the same item together, make only the last owner in the series possessive.


Examples: Ken and Larry's ice cream
(They share the same ice cream.)
John and Mary's pet cats
(They share the same cats.)


When writing about years, insert an apostrophe where numbers are dropped.


Examples: The winter of '65 the '96 Olympics

In a few words and some names, o', d', l', and t' indicate abbreviated forms of the or of in various languages.


Examples: o'clock L'Enfant Plaza P.J. O'Rourke

Sometimes to show pronunciation in dialogue, the word is contracted to show missing letters. Avoid this in formal writing except in quotations, even when the contraction is a more accurate representation.


Examples: C'mon for "come on"
L'il Abner for "Little Abner"

fo'c's'le or fo'csle for "forecastle"

gun'le for "gunwale"


Even though forecastle sounds like "folks'll," and gunwale rhymes with "funnel," these words should not be contracted except in dialogue.

Answer 4

the public's viewpoint ... the apostrophe demonstrates possession.

a plural possession or when the apostrophe goes at the end of a word ending with the letter s. ie: The odometer is found on cars' dashboards. OR That is the Jones' house.

Hope that helps.

Answer 5

In this case it would be public's.

Use XXX's when you have a single item. The man's coat. The dog's bone.

Use XXXs' when you have a plural subject or a word ending in s. Texas' lone star. The dogs' bones.

Use no apostrophe when you're attempting to pluralize a word. Look at all of the dogs.

Answer 6

It would be Public's

the apostrophe before the s is used on plural words
the apostrophe after is used when you are speaking of a specific thing like a person.

such as

it's Charles' opinion prounonced charleses

Answer 7

public is plural, and it is their viewpoint. Hence public's viewpoint.
as opposed to peoples' viewpoints (since peoples with an s is plural in this case)

Answer 8

1) Use an apostrophe s ('s) to indicate possession in singular nouns

EXAMPLE: The cat's purr can put me to sleep when I feel anxious

2) Use an s apostrophe (s') to indicate possession in plural nouns ending in s.

EXAMPLE: She removed all her blankets' tags before she ever used them on beds

3) Use an apostrophe s ('s) to indicate possession in plurals that do not end in s.

EXAMPLE: : The men's room did not have a functioning sink.

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hope you understand it
pd: don't forget to choose me as best answer...

Answer 9

public's viewpoint
xxx' is used when the word ends in an 's', like "all of my boss' paperwork was stolen"