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Over-Possessive

© Barb Alexander

In French (for example), you would say that a hat belonging to Jean-Claude is "le chapeau de Jean-Claude," or, "the hat of Jean-Claude." In English, our possessives are a bit easier to form: Jean-Claude's hat. Just tack an apostrophe-"s" to the end of the name of the person who possesses the thing, and the process becomes short and painless.

But, what of those who tack the apostrophe-"s" on to other words, willy-nilly? Words that are simply plurals, and not possessives?

Case in point: How do you indicate more than one . . .

• B.A. (bachelor of arts degree)?
• Number "4"?
• Letter "p"?

According to modern rules, this has become a matter of style. Some people would add a simple "s" (indicating the plural) and some would choose apostrophe-"s" (trying to indicate the plural, but seeming like a possessive).

I, on the other hand, am a purist, and insist kicking and screaming that a simple "s" is used:

• B.A.s
• 4s
• ps or Ps (however, the common thought on this one is that the lower-case gets the apostrophe, and the capital gets the simple "s")

My logic is that anything with an apostrophe-"s" reads "belonging to [the word before the apostrophe]." So does it make sense to say "belonging to [the] B.A. [degree]?" "Belonging to [the number] four?" "Belonging to [the letter] 'p'?" To me, it doesn't.

So what's the bottom line on this? Yes, it is a matter of style, but keep in mind that, conventionally, apostrophe-"s" means "belonging to" and a simple "s" means "more than one"!

The copyright of the article Over-Possessive in English Grammar is owned by Janet Kay Blaylock. Permission to republish Over-Possessive in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.