The Apostrophe

When something is omitted

In ancient Greek, apostrophos meant a “mark of a turning away.” This became apostrophus in Latin, which was then adopted and adapted by the French as apostrophe, so that, by the early 1500’s, an apostrophe was recognized as a “mark indicating an omitted letter.” This is the definition of Apostrophe which we still use today, though we often don’t think about what has been omitted when we use it, nor the history which is behind it. (Welcome to Manuscribit! Please start at the very beginning post, and work your way through with a sketchbook at your side!) There are three ways in which apostrophes are currently used: 1) to indicate possession, 2) in a contraction to indicate that a letter or letters are missing, and 3) as a poetic device to help with pronunciation and flow.

Possession: It used to be that, in old English, a possessive (the genitive case in Latin) was formed by adding “es” to all masculine and neuter nouns (which, like their Latin counterparts, ended in consonants). As time went on, the “e” was replaced by an apostrophe to indicate the missing “e.” Why was this done? One major reason was that it was easier to say “king’s” than “kinges.” Eventually, and with much confusion along the way, the rule for apostrophe use to signify possession became this: For singular nouns, add ‘s, as in king’s, mother’s, and child’s. For nouns that are made plural by adding an s, place the apostrophe after the s, as in kings’ and mothers’, but where nouns are made plural by changing the word entirely, stick with ‘s, as in children’s.

Here is also a good place to note that you should not personify an inanimate thing by making it a possessive. A thing does not “own” or “possess” something as a person or living being does. Therefore, you should not write about the “table’s legs” because the table does not possess or own the legs—they are just a part of the table. The correct way is to write “the legs of the table.” In Latin, the genitive case (from which our possessive case was derived) is understood either as “a part of a whole” or “belonging to a living being.” Frequently, you will see popular writers refer to “this century’s greatest” or “that era’s best.” That is grammatically incorrect, as a century or an era cannot possess anything. The correct form is “the greatest of this century” or “the best of that era.”

Contractions: The apostrophe indicates missing letters, and, as with possessive use of apostrophes, this evolved to make speech flow more smoothly. In essence, the words are “contracted.” It’s much easier to say “I can’t find it” instead of “I cannot find it.” It is a bit awkward to hear someone ask “Did not you find it yet?” or “Did you not find it yet?” as opposed to “Didn’t you find it yet?” Contractions typically are formed when the word “not” is added to various verbs, and the apostrophe indicates the missing letter “o.” Examples: shouldn’t, can’t, didn’t, aren’t. Similarly, apostrophes are used in contractions using the word “is” in which the letter “i” is removed. Examples: he’s, she’s, it’s, who’s. (“its” is the possessive form.) Apostrophes also may indicate the absence of several letters. Examples: won’t (will not), shan’t (shall not).

In Poetry: Apostrophes have historically been used to ease the flow of reading or to maintain a particular rhyming pattern. “When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d” is the opening line of Walt Whitman’s mournful poetic elegy to Abraham Lincoln. The word “bloomed” would have traditionally been pronounced as “bloom-ed,” and that would not have produced the desired effect for Whitman’s lovely poem. So he removed the “e” and inserted an apostrophe so that it would be read as he wished. Similarly, we know many traditional Christmas carols which often use apostrophes to to keep the melody flowing. Hark the Herald Angels Sing, written by Charles Wesley in 1739, features heav’n, ris’n, and th’incarnate deity among others. Of course, Mr. Shakespeare made great use of apostrophes in various contractions used throughout his plays: ‘tis, ‘til, ‘twas, o’er are just a few of the regularly seen contractions in his plays which were adopted into general speech.

That’s it for apostrophes, and our first post in punctuation. Next week, we will undertake the humble asterisk and learn when it is and is not appropriate to use. Until then, may God’s peace be with you.