------------Excerpt from The Elements of Style --------------
Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's.
This is the usage of the United States Government Printing Office and of the Oxford University Press.
Charles's friend
Burns's poems
the witch's malice
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Could someone explain two things please :
1. When usage of apostrophe as possessive is wrong and when it is justified ? How to distinguish it ?
2. In what way GMAT writes it for plural ? Charles's friend or Charles' friend ? I know GMAT does not ask it explicitly , but it can help for effective reading and understanding of gmat text.
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OG example :
The Olympic Games helped to keep peace among the pugnacious states of the Greek world in that a sacred truce was proclaimed during the festival's month.
(A) world in that a sacred truce was proclaimed during the festival's month
(B) world, proclaiming a sacred truce during the festival's month
(C) world when they proclaimed a sacred truce for the festival month
(D) world, for a sacred truce was proclaimed during the month of the festival
(E) world by proclamation of a sacred truce that was for the month of the festival
--OG explanation :
Festival's month is an awkward and imprecise use of the possessive; during the month of the ftstival is clearer.
Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's.
This is the usage of the United States Government Printing Office and of the Oxford University Press.
Charles's friend
Burns's poems
the witch's malice
-------------------------------------
Could someone explain two things please :
1. When usage of apostrophe as possessive is wrong and when it is justified ? How to distinguish it ?
2. In what way GMAT writes it for plural ? Charles's friend or Charles' friend ? I know GMAT does not ask it explicitly , but it can help for effective reading and understanding of gmat text.
-------------
OG example :
The Olympic Games helped to keep peace among the pugnacious states of the Greek world in that a sacred truce was proclaimed during the festival's month.
(A) world in that a sacred truce was proclaimed during the festival's month
(B) world, proclaiming a sacred truce during the festival's month
(C) world when they proclaimed a sacred truce for the festival month
(D) world, for a sacred truce was proclaimed during the month of the festival
(E) world by proclamation of a sacred truce that was for the month of the festival
--OG explanation :
Festival's month is an awkward and imprecise use of the possessive; during the month of the ftstival is clearer.
