Grammar Question...(apostrophe's)?

Question

Can someone fix this grammar question?
"....whether the government should allow people to listen in on other peoples emails anonymously."
Where do the apostrophe's go (for "peoples" and "emails")?
And do you spell "listen in" like it is spelled now or do you spell it as "listen-in" with a dash between it?
And any other grammatical errors/advice?

Answer 1

"...listen in on people's emails." People is a plural noun, as is "children," "women," and "men." The apostrophe goes before the "s."

Plural words also do NOT have apostrophes, a concept you (and many people) have failed to grasp. The only time a plural would have an apostrophe is if you were saying something like, "A's"--and that is to avoid confusion.

Verb phrases are very rarely hyphenated, and certainly not in this case.

Answer 2

Let's take it by stages:
"other people's emails anonymously" -- in this case the best way to decide if an apostrophe (') is needed is to rephrase the sentence to see if possession is denoted. In other words, does it mean "emails of other people"? If so, the ' is definitely necessary. In English the most common, although not the only, use of the ' is to show possession: the boy's bicycle, the book's cover.
As for "emails," the jury is still out on whether it needs a hyphen. My guess is that usage will follow the common pattern of omitting it; after all, a hundred years ago we wrote "to-morrow" and "to-day." A very good candidate for eventual shortening is "good-bye," which originally meant "God be with you [or ye]".
Finally, "listen in" as a combinational verb (verb + preposition or adverb) takes no hyphen. Hypothetically, if you used a phrase like "I gave it a listen-in," it would. By the way, don't confusion a hyphen with a dash, or vice versa. They serve different purposes, but that's another topic...

Answer 3

Hallelujah! Two answerers who know that an apostrophe is not required just to pluralise a noun. There are precious few of us left these days. I'm already considering carrying a set of marker pens so I can correct menus, boards outside pubs and restaurants etc.

Answer 4

peoples: People's
emails: NO APOSTROPHE but dash should be there (E-mails)
Listen in: Correct as is.

There are no more grammar mistakes.

Glad I could help.