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Writin Gud Have you ever been 'thrown out' of a story? Lost because of misspelled names, poorly constructed sentences, or way out of character dialogue? From satire to serious, whether you're lampooning or lovingly treating the characters, you are working with someone else's characters. Fans have a set of expectations that you can work with, or against. It's difficult to fall in love with a story if you struggled to get through it. So The Alternative Quadrant has decided to help writers get and keep readers with this monthly column of advice. If there is a certain topic or problem in fan fiction that you would like to see addressed here, please send e-mail to alternative_quadrant@mailcity.com This Month... Those Possessive Apostrophes by Captain Starbuck I don't know if I'm just anal-retentive (which makes me think of a t-shirt I once bought - It said "Does anal-retentive have a hyphen?"), or maybe it was the way I was raised (my mother was an English teacher). Maybe I'm just a nit-picky SOB (and I've been called much worse), but one of the things that detracts from my reading pleasure is the misuse of apostrophes or incorrect possessives. To me, the constant misuse of the apostrophe makes me think the author doesn't care enough about their story, and that in turn makes me not want to care enough about their story to read it. Of course, that's JMHO. Apostrophes can be tricky and easy to misuse. (Heaven knows the English language is tough enough *g*). When do you use them? When don't you? I know that even with my obsession with the correct usage, I still find myself making mistakes (another good reason why I have such superb beta-readers). Below is a list of words and contractions that I think generate the most confusion, with some examples that might help us all "get it right". Examples in blue are the correct way of using the possessive case/apostrophe. Examples in red are incorrect.
There/Their/They're There - that place, that point Example 1 - "Seven, I need you to touch me there."Example 2 - "Seven, I need you to touch me they're." Translation - "Seven, I need you to touch me they are." Example 3 - "Seven, I need you to touch me their." I see this and I say "their what?"
Their - relating to them or themselves Example 1 - They put their arms around one another.Example 2 - They put they're arms around one another. Translation - They put they are arms around one another.
They're - a contraction to replace they are Example - They're beaming down to the planet.Translation - They are beaming down to the planet.
It's/Its It's - a contraction to replace it is Example - It's plain to see that Captain Janeway is in love with Seven.Translation - It is plain to see...
Its - belonging to it (don't use the apostrophe) Example 1 - The Borg Cube drifted in space, its transwarp drive off-line.Example 2 - The Borg Cube drifted in space, it's transwarp drive off-line. Translation - The Borg Cube drifted in space, it is transwarp drive off-line.
Your/You're Your - belonging to you Example 1 - "Put your arms around me, Kathryn."Example 2 - "Put you're arms around me, Kathryn." Translation "Put you are arms around me, Kathryn."
You're - a contraction to replace you are Example - "You're confined to quarters - my quarters - for the next twenty-four hours."Translation - "You are confined to quarters...."
Hers/Ours/His/Yours These do not have apostrophes. Example - That's not mine. It's her's.Translation "That is not mine. It is her is." Example - "Yes, Commander, that king-sized bed is our's." Translation - "Yes, Commander, that king-size bed is our is." Hint - Towels do not say "His" and "Her's"
Were/We're Were - past plural of be (singular would be was) Example 1 - They were both tired after a long night together.Example 2 - They we're both tired after a long night together. Translation - They we are both tired after a long night together.
We're - contraction for we are Example - "We're in love," Janeway confirmed.Translation - "We are in love," Janeway confirmed.
The End....Good Luck and Good Writing!! |