Apostrophes

Apostrophes are punctuation marks used in English to show that something belongs to something else, or else that some letters or numbers have been left out of a term. The word apostrophe derives from ancient Greek words meaning to turn away from something. This suggests that using an apostrophe means we have turned away from one way to state information, and have decided to state it in another way. Even native speakers and writers of British and American English use apostrophes in the wrong way. In Thai English, the problem is constant. Here are some examples where apostrophes are used correctly to show possession:

On the Bank of Thailand website, we see the following sentence:

On the occasion of Prof. Dr. Puey Ungphakorn’s Centennial Anniversary in 2016, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) — an institution at which Prof. Dr. Puey Ungpakorn served as Governor (1959 – 1971) — wishes to commemorate and honor him for his great dedication, sacrifice, integrity, righteousness and the benefit of the nation by producing brand new media which reflect Prof. Dr. Puey’s personality, vision, principle, action and tells a story of “Truth  Grace and Righteousness” — the timeless virtues of Prof. Dr. Puey Ungphakorn which continue to shine brightly and endlessly for all to learn.

This long sentence uses apostrophes twice, both times correctly:

Prof. Dr. Puey Ungphakorn’s Centennial Anniversary

Prof. Dr. Puey’s personality, vision, principle, action

In the first phrase, the centennial anniversary belongs to Dr. Puey, so we may refer to it as

Puey Ungphakorn’s Centennial Anniversary

Likewise, when we refer to the personality of Dr. Puey, this clearly belongs to him, so it is correct to use the apostrophe:

Prof. Dr. Puey’s personality

One error frequently seen in Thai English is the use of an apostrophe where in standard English, it would not be used. If we imagine a study center that would be dedicated to Dr. Puey, in English this would most commonly be named

The Puey Ungphakorn Study Center

This means that the study center has been named in honor of Dr. Puey. Instead, in Thai English, too often we see that an apostrophe is added to indicate possession where it is not needed. The following are examples of mistakes or possible confusion with apostrophes: 

The Puey Ungphakorn’s Study Center

or

Puey Ungphakorn’s Study Center

If we refer to possession in this way, it might confuse visitors who could think that Dr. Puey used this study center or it belonged to him in some way. In fact, we merely wish to honor him, not to indicate possession.

Apostrophes when something is left out

In Thai English writing, students sometimes use apostrophes that would be appropriate in informal messages to friends such as texts or personal emails, but are not correct in formal academic research papers or theses. The safest way to avoid this problem is for the Thai English writer to not use the apostrophe for this purpose. Even if the result can sometimes seem too formal, at least it will not be informal when it should be formal. As when deciding what clothes to wear for a social occasion, it is usually better to dress a little too formally than to dress too informally, especially if everyone around us is wearing formal clothes. It is really a question of respect for the subject being written about as well as for the ajarns who will be reading the student’s work, as well as other potential readers. So in academic research papers and theses we should almost never use the apostrophe to show that something has been left out:

I’m instead of I am            

We’re instead of we are

He’ll instead of he will

We’ll instead of we will

She’d instead of she had or else she would

It’s raining instead of it is raining

Didn’t instead of did not

Wouldn’t instead of would not

Thai students sometimes use these shortened versions of expressions because they may look as if the writers are confident in their use of English expressions. But in some cases, such as She’d, we are not sure whether she had or she would is meant by the writer until we read the rest of the sentence. This adds complications to writing that are not necessary. We should always try to keep things as simple as possible. The simpler our writing is, the less likely we will get tangled up by challenges and find ourselves making mistakes. Also, simple writing with clear, short sentences gets our message across in the most efficient way. Our readers will thank us for writing simply. Overall these apostrophes are not needed and can lead to some problems in our writing. It is fine to continue using them in text messages and emails to friends, but as a general rule, not for when writing English for university purposes. Naturally, if in an academic research paper or theses, an English writer is quoted who has used the apostrophe for these purposes, then we must preserve the exact form of the quotation and use the apostrophe. But these are clearly indicated as quotes, so our readers will not think we believe that a thesis or academic research paper is an informal or casual thing to write.

There are rarer occasions when the apostrophe is used to show that numbers have been left out. Students and ajarns who have studied the history of the United States of America may have seen the expression the Spirit of ’76, to describe a nationalist feeling around the American Revolution. Since the Declaration of Independence from England was issued on July 4, 1776 in the United States, this year is celebrated as the official beginning of a nation. Why is it referred to as

the Spirit of ’76

and not

the Spirit of 1776?

This may be mainly a question of how the shorter version looks on the page and sounds when it is said. Writers of Thai English should be particularly careful to avoid leaving out numbers for years unless they are very commonly done in English. A way of being sure is to Google any term which we may plan to use the apostrophe, to see if anyone else uses it. Otherwise the reader may be confused if in our academic research paper or thesis we refer mistakenly to

Traffic Congestion and Air Pollution in Bangkok in ’18.

This would not be a correct way to cite the present year. Instead we should write:

Traffic Congestion and Air Pollution in Bangkok in 2018.

Another thought to keep in mind:

Apostrophes should not be used to indicate plural forms

A widely seen error is to use apostrophes to indicate that more than one thing is being mentioned. For example, a badly written sign  in the street might read:

Fresh Durian’s For Sale Here

Whether we love or hate durian, we should remember that this is not a correct way to use the apostrophe. Instead, the usual plural form should be used:

Fresh Durians For Sale Here

or just

Fresh Durian For Sale Here

since it is clear that more than one durian is being sold. Again, the easiest form turns out to be the correct one.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)