Reader-Friendly Reports: A No-nonsense Guide to Effective Writing for MBAs, Consultants, and Other Professionals

POSSESSIVE APOSTROPHES

Apostrophes cause more trouble per square inch than any other punctuation mark. Why that should be is a mystery: the rules are simple, and, miracle of all miracles, they have no exceptions.

Since everything that can possess something is either singular or plural, and since every word either does or doesn’t end in S or Z, this simple four-cell matrix includes all possibilities:

Possibility 1. Upper Left Cell. A singular noun that doesn’t end in S or Z: dog, cat, IBM, Joe, company, economy, Britain. Just add ’s:

The dog’s tail, the cat’s paw, IBM’s reorganization, Joe’s job, the company’s plans, the economy’s downturn, Britain’s ...