NOTE: Some of these nouns are occasionally used in the plural by good writers. 15. Proper nouns usually form their plurals in the regular manner. Thus a proper noun forms its plural by adding s, if the plural is not pronounced with an extra syllable; a proper noun ending in a consonant forms its plural by adding es, if the plural is pronounced with an extra syllable. the three Marys; in the time of the Henrys; the Lelys; the Joneses; the five little Robertses; the Howellses; the Charleses; the Burnses. 16. The plural of letters, figures, symbols, and words considered as words is formed by adding an apostrophe and s to the singular. (a) There should be two l's in that word. (b) When 6's are inverted, they look like 9's. (c) One of those that's might be omitted. CAUTION: The plural of ordinary nouns should never be formed by the addition of an apostrophe and s to the singular. Bad: I saw two bear's climbing a tree. Correct: I saw two bears climbing a tree. 8. POSSESSIVES I. To form the possessive of a singular noun add 's. boy, boy's; John, John's. 2. To form the possessive of a plural noun, add only the apostrophe. boys, boys'; horses, horses'. NOTE: If the plural ends in the letter n, 's must be added. men, men's; women, women's; children, children's. 3. If the singular ends in s or x, since the possessive s is, for the sake of euphony, generally not pronounced, the apostrophe may alone be used to indicate possession. Moses' rod; Jones' business. 4. In the case of inanimate things and with the names of cities and countries the preposition of should be used instead of the apostrophe. the cover of the book; the population of New York. 5. Possessive pronouns do not take the apostrophe. his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs. 6. If two words are in apposition, the sign of the possessive is usually added to the latter. Richard Cœur de Lion's army; Smith the hatter's store. 7. In compound nouns the sign of the possessive is usually added to the last word. brother-in-law's house; attorney-general's death. 8. A noun or pronoun modifying a verbal noun or gerund must be in the possessive case. (a) I cannot imagine his refusing. (b) I object to my daughter's marrying him. NOTE: Compound expressions omit the sign of the possessive. There is no possibility of the question of his eligibility being decided before the game begins. 9. In the phrases anybody else, somebody else, every one else, nobody else, and no one else, the form of the possessive to be preferred is else's. I found that I had taken some one else's umbrella. 10. The distinction should be noted between a painting of my father and a painting of my father's. II. Care should be taken to avoid the ambiguity sometimes arising from a use of the possessive which may be understood in either the subjective or the objective sense. In the sentence The love of children is a feeling of high moral value, the subject may imply either the love which children feel or the love which others have for children. The former is an example of the subjective possessive, and the latter an instance of the objective use of the possessive. 9. RULES FOR SPELLING I. In adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, monosyllables and words accented on the last syllable double the final consonant if it is preceded by a vowel. plan, planning; infer, inferred; regret, regretting; excel, excelling; repel, repellant; expel, expelled. NOTE: There are a few exceptions to this rule, as there are to most rules for spelling. 2. A word ending in a double consonant usually keeps both consonants when a suffix of one or more syllables is added. stiff, stiffness; shrill, shrilling; distress, distressing. CAUTION: All right does not belong in the group given above; it is composed of two separate words, and should never be spelled as one word. 3. Final e is usually retained before a suffix beginning with a consonant. fade, fadeless; amaze, amazement; enhance, enhancement; fine, finely; sincere, sincerely. EXCEPTIONS: awful; duly; truly; wholly; nursling; acknowledgment (also spelled acknowledgement;) abridgment (also spelled abridgement); judgment (also spelled judgement). In England the last three words are usually spelled with the e before the suffix. 4. Final e, when silent, is usually omitted before a suffix beginning with a vowel. grieve, grievance; make, making; please, pleasure. EXCEPTIONS: Words ending in ce or ge retain the e in order to keep c and g soft before suffixes beginning with a and o. service, serviceable; change, changeable; manage, manageable; outrage, outrageous. 5. Final y preceded by a vowel is retained when a suffix is added. monkey, monkeys; joy, joyful; enjoy, enjoying. 6. Final y preceded by a consonant is usually changed to i when a suffix is added, except when the suffix is ing. icy, iciest; cozy, coziest, cozily; tidy, tidiness, tidying; dry, drying. 7. A small group of words in which the digraphs ei and ie occur may be tested by the word Alice. Thus i comes after l, as in relieve; e comes after c, as in deceive. believe; conceive; receive. NOTE: The following words do not come under the rule:ancient; conscientious; counterfeit; height; heinous; seize; mischievous; siege; weird. REFERENCES BELL, R. H. Changing Values of English Speech, pp. 217-53. HITCHCOCK, A. M. Enlarged Practice-Book in English Composition, pp. 128-49. JORDAN, M. A. Correct Writing and Speaking, pp. 193-206. NEWCOMER and SEWARD. Rhetoric in Practice, pp. 182–88. |