5.10.2008

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Tomorrow is a day to recognize mothers, so
now seems like the perfect time to
ask this burning question:

Does the name of the holiday for our mothers need
an apostrophe, and if so, where does it go...



Choice 1
Mothers Day
with no apostrophe:

You can argue that mothers do not own the day, so no possession
is involved. Thus, no apostrophe is needed. We are describing
a day for mothers, not a day belonging to
a particular mother or mothers...


Choice 2
Mothers' Day
with an apostrophe after the
s:
Here, the argument is that the day belongs
to all mothers collectively. Thus, we
need an apostrophe after the s.

Choice 3
Mother's Day
with an apostrophe before the
s:
This last argument is that the day belongs to one
specific mother (presumably yours). Because
possession is involved, mother's needs
an apostrophe before the s...

There seems to be a good argument for all three choices,
so I guess the question is still burning...



Happy Mommy Day

1 comment:

{Erica} said...

I struggle with this every time I type the name of today's holiday. You made some pretty good points and I, like you, am so glad that when it comes to my blog typos and errors of any kind are ok...because it's my blog :)

ps thank you for the kind words regarding my mother. She and my dad always thought so very highly of you and the way you educate. I will forever know all the helping verbs for the rest of my life and say them to my husband just to show off frequently :)

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