Possessives

“NEW YEARS EVE WITH CARSON DALY”

Apostrophes, Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Possessives

I saw this title repeatedly on an NBC television program last evening.

Problem:
An apostrophe is missing.

Explanation:
There it was in all capital letters as we headed into the year 2008: a program title screaming to be scanned for errors. Sure enough, there was one.

The singular noun “YEAR” requires a possessive apostrophe followed by an “S” to indicate the possession of the “EVE” by the year. Another way to write this phrase is “EVE OF THE NEW YEAR …”.

I believe that the absence of a required possessive apostrophe can be attributable to:

  1. A typographical error;
  2. Ignorance about possessive apostrophes.

Given how bold the title was, I dismiss #1 for the program title. Surely someone at NBC would have caught the error, if she understood how to use possessive apostrophes.

That leaves us with #2 for the program title. I believe that this ignorance is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” hypothesis. It’s simpler to write possessive words without apostrophes than to write them with apostrophes.

For help with apostrophes, I highly recommend Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss.

Solution:
“NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH CARSON DALY”

“10 lucky employees and there one guest have …”

Common English Blunders, Nouns, Possessives, Pronouns

I saw this in an email message.

Problems:
1. Numbers that begin sentences should be written as words.
2. The word “there” is not a possessive pronoun.
3. It’s unclear whether the ten employees have one guest each or have a total of exactly one guest.

Explanation:
1. Some say that numbers less than 100 should be written as words, whereas others say that numbers less than ten should be written as words. Ignoring this controversy as well as the liberties taken by advertisers and headline writers, it is widely accepted that a number that begins a sentence should be written as a word.

2. The word “there” is not a possessive pronoun. As homonyms or homophones, “there” and “their” and “they’re” are too frequently misused. The guest belonging to or possessed by the employee(s) (see #3) takes the possessive pronoun “their” — not “there” or (even worse!) “they’re”.

3. Based on the first two explanations, we can rewrite this sentence introduction as “Ten lucky employees and their one guest have …”, but confusion remains! We don’t know whether each employee has a guest or the ten employees as a group have one guest. The remainder of the sentence was “… the opportunity to go on the floor and greet the [basketball] players as they go out on the court during half time.” Assuming that each lucky employee gets to have his or her own guest, we get the solution.

Solution:
“Ten lucky employees and one guest per lucky employee have …”

“Building the worlds best communications company …”

Apostrophes, Common English Blunders, Possessives

I saw this in an official communication from the number-two executive at the world’s largest telecommunications company.

Problem:
An apostrophe is missing.

Explanation:
The singular noun “world” requires a possessive apostrophe followed by an “s” to indicate the possession of the “best communications company” by the world. Another way to write this phrase is “Building the best communications company in the world …”.

Solution:
“Building the world’s best communications company …”