(?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)
William Strunk Jr.

“Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write: Charles's friend, Burns's poems, the witch's malice. ... The pronomial possessives hers, its, theirs, yours, and ours have no apostrophe. Indefinite pronouns, however, use the apostrophe to show possession: one's rights, somebody else's umbrella. A common error is to write it's for its, or vice versa. The first is a contraction, meaning "it is". The second is a possessive. It's a wise dog that scratches its own fleas.”

Strunk Jr., William, The Elements of Style
Read more quotes from William Strunk Jr.


Share this quote:
Share on Twitter

Friends Who Liked This Quote

To see what your friends thought of this quote, please sign up!

0 likes
All Members Who Liked This Quote

None yet!


This Quote Is From

The Elements of Style The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.
86,615 ratings, average rating, 4,986 reviews
Open Preview

Browse By Tag