Saturday, January 2, 2010

Why a Grammar Blog, exactly?

Recently I found myself in need of brushing up on my grammar for a test. I had only two days--and I failed. It was humbling, quite frankly, since English is kind of my thing. Writing...apparently NOT editing. So, I decided to jump in with both feet and go hog wild (mixing metaphors for two hundred, Alex). I added two books by Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl, to my collection and a brand new (hardback!) edition of Strunk & White. And since I am apparently addicted to blogging (who could have guessed?)--well, I thought I would take you along on the journey.
Mignon has a book called The Grammar Devotional which has daily tips for improving writing. So, I am reading that, and blogging here about what she suggests. Because you know, to learn, you need to read, and write, the material. At least I do.
So, today's topic, which I am actually taking from Strunk & White, is rule one of the Elementary rules--possessives.
I am afflicted with a relatively good education. I say afflicted because, see, this education makes me think I know things that, really, I am 'misremembering'. (Thanks for that addition to the lexicon, Dubya!) So, I was (mistakenly) appalled when Bridget Jones's Diary made its appearance in 2001.
"No, no, no!! If you are making a possessive of a name ending in an "s" you just add the apostrophe--no extra "s" is needed!" I cried indignantly.
And, I was wrong. Maybe.
Strunk says to add an 's no matter what the final consonant.
Except when you don't. (See, it's NOT all that easy!)
Mignon says BOTH forms are correct. It is a personal choice. Or the choice of whatever style you choose to use. Strunk says it is always apostrophe s. AP Stylebook (Associated Press) disagrees.
Even the U.S. Supreme Court has gotten into the debate (Kansas's or Kansas'). There is still no resolution. So I was wrong, in that the title was right. But I was also right. (See now why writing this all out is helpful?)
Sometimes, people choose which form to use by whether or not the extra "s" is pronounced. In Jones's, the extra "s" is pronounced, so 's it is.
When the second "s" is not pronounced, such as in King Ramses' Tomb, there is no extra "s."
Whether you make it an apostrophe s or not, really, is up to you.
Of course, you could always just say "The Diary of Bridget Jones" and avoid the issue altogether.

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