0
Hans51 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Using "apostrophe"

"She said reunification of the Koreas would be more expensive than that of Germany's in the early 1990s."

I have seen the sentence in a news paper and I was wondering if we need the apostrophe behind Germany or just Germanys is correct like the Koreas for the plural?

Or something is omitted behind? What do you native English speakers think? Thank you so much as usual in advance.
  

Top answer

Hans51 have seen the sentence in a news paper and I was wondering if we need the apostrophe behind Germany or just Germanys is correct like the Koreas for the plural? That would require the definite article (' the Germanys' [East and West]). As it stands, the writer intended the possessive to refer to the reunification: Germany's reunification .

— Mister Micawber

  • Hans51 have seen the sentence in a news paper and I was wondering if we need the apostrophe behind Germany or just Germanys is correct like the Koreas for the plural?
  • That would require the definite article (' the Germanys' [East and West]).
  • As it stands, the writer intended the possessive to refer to the reunification: Germany's reunification .
  • I agree that the sentence composition is not the clearest.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

2 Answers
0
Hans51 have seen the sentence in a news paper and I was wondering if we need the apostrophe behind Germany or just Germanys is correct like the Koreas for the plural?
That would require the definite article ('the Germanys' [East and West]). As it stands, the writer intended the possessive to refer to the reunification: Germany's reunification.
0
0
I take it that the writer is referring to the two countries that made up Germany.

I'd say 'the two Germanies', or avoid the problem by saying 'the two parts of Germany'.

You need 'the', for the same reason that he said 'the Koreas'.

Ano
0

Related Questions