Post by Paul Doherty on May 3, 2008 16:24:04 GMT
5. ADJECTIVAL
Not everything is possessive, sometimes it's just adjectival and needs no apostrophe:
Sports car.
Accounts department.
Communications manager.
Customer car park.
But such adjectival usage tends to be singular (customer car park) or inanimate (accounts department). Once it becomes plural or animate, we tend toward the possessive, but this is an area of dispute:
Customers' car park.
Magistrates' court.
Farmers' market.
Boys' football league.
Students' union.
Children's hospital.
When used as titles, many people would write:
Magistrates Court.
Farmers Market.
Boys Football League.
Students Union or Student Union.
But Childrens Hospital has to be wrong (there's no word Childrens), and Customers Car Park would normally be Customer Car Park.
Not everything is possessive, sometimes it's just adjectival and needs no apostrophe:
Sports car.
Accounts department.
Communications manager.
Customer car park.
But such adjectival usage tends to be singular (customer car park) or inanimate (accounts department). Once it becomes plural or animate, we tend toward the possessive, but this is an area of dispute:
Customers' car park.
Magistrates' court.
Farmers' market.
Boys' football league.
Students' union.
Children's hospital.
When used as titles, many people would write:
Magistrates Court.
Farmers Market.
Boys Football League.
Students Union or Student Union.
But Childrens Hospital has to be wrong (there's no word Childrens), and Customers Car Park would normally be Customer Car Park.