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JJDouglas Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Possessive apostrophe placement on decades
When referring to "the 90s' film" or "the 90s' song", what is the proper place for the apostrophe? Following the rules of possession, it makes the most sense (to me, anyway) to have the apostrophe after the "s", but I see it written as "90's" all the time. To me, "90's" would refer to something that only belongs to the year 1990 and not the decade as a whole. Which one is correct?
And since I am on the subject, is the plural possession of sheep "sheep's" or "sheeps'"?
And since I am on the subject, is the plural possession of sheep "sheep's" or "sheeps'"?
Top answer
People normally write 90's not because it is a possessive but because for some reason they feel unhappy about attaching a plural "s" directly to "90". It is the same kind of thinking that makes people write the plural of "DVD" as "DVD's", or even the plural of "banana" as "banana's". There is no need for it.
- People normally write 90's not because it is a possessive but because for some reason they feel unhappy about attaching a plural "s" directly to "90".
- It is the same kind of thinking that makes people write the plural of "DVD" as "DVD's", or even the plural of "banana" as "banana's".
- There is no need for it.
- Just write 90s , or, as some people might prefer '90s .
- If you do need a possessive then it would be 90s' , but the possessive is not necessary in the two examples you give.
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1 Answers
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People normally write 90's not because it is a possessive but because for some reason they feel unhappy about attaching a plural "s" directly to "90". It is the same kind of thinking that makes people write the plural of "DVD" as "DVD's", or even the plural of "banana" as "banana's". There is no need for it. Just write 90s, or, as some people might prefer '90s.
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If you
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