English Grammar Rules “Ten year’s experience” vs “Ten years of experience”

Martha S. Lyon

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English Grammar Rules Ten year’s experience vs Ten years experience

Martha S. Lyon

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English Grammar Rules Ten year’s experience vs Ten years experience

• the hands of the clock = the clock’s hands
• the depth of the lake = the lake’s depth
• a throw of the stone = a stone’s throw
• several days of work = several days’ work

• Step One: make the word singular or add “s,” “es,” or remove the “y” and add “ies” to make it plural.
• Step Two: add the apostrophe
• Step Three: add the final “s” if one is required. In most instances it is, but, if not sure, refer to a usage guide.
  • the route of the bus = the bus’s route —- the second “s” is added when it’s pronounced, but it’s optional when it may not be pronounced, as in Dicken’s novels or Dickens’ novels

• Joint Possession v. Individual Possession
  • It’s “Laurel and Hardy’s comedies,” but it’s “Laurel’s and Hardy’s houses”

• CAVEAT: When showing possession with an apostrophe is awkward, use “of” instead.
  • “The revised and expanded edition’s index” is better as “the index of the revised and expanded edition”
  • “my sons-in-law’s wives” should be “the wives of my sons-in-law
  • “La Bamba”’s insistent rhythm is better as “the insistent rhythm of “La Bamba”
  • “the page’s bottom” is better as “the bottom of the page”

NOTE: Examples from The Borzoi Handbook for Writers, Third Edition, by F. Crews, S. Schor, and M. Hennessy, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1993, p. 389 – 395.