Possessive Essay + Works Cited

Jacky Leung
Professor Sabir
English 201B, MW 1-2:50
13 May 2009

Understanding Possessives

The authors of Stewart Pidd Hates English devote an entire section to possessives. Understanding possessives can improve one’s writing. Possessive nouns are nouns ending with an apostrophe -s that indicates ownership. A possessive noun phrase consists of a possessive noun and the object it possesses. Five rules for possessive noun phrases: Singular nouns that do not end in -s takes an -s to show possession. Plural nouns that do not end in -s takes an -s to show possession. Singular nouns that end in -s takes an -s to show possession. Plural nouns that end in-s takes only an apostrophe to show possession. Possessive pronouns do not need an apostrophe because it indicates ownership. (Pollitt and Baker 216). Due to the many case errors in the essay “The Land That Is Ludville,” Stewart Pidd should review the rules for punctuating possessives.
Pidd errs in punctuating possessive pronouns: “Fertilizer Workers’.” (1). Pidd misplaced the apostrophe after the -s in “Fertilizer Workers’.” The retirement fund belongs to the Fertilizer Workers. Singular nouns that do not end in -s takes an -’s to show possession. To fix the error, Pidd needs to move the apostrophe after the -s to between the -r and -s. The corrected phrase will look like this: “Fertilizer Worker’s.”
Pidd falters when he punctuates singular possessive nouns not ending in -s. Pidd writes, “Lois’ cruel nature.” (2). Pidd misplaced the apostrophe after the -s in “Lois’ cruel nature.” The singular noun “Lois’ does not end in -s. Singular nouns that do not end in -s takes an -’s to show possession. To repair the error, Pidd needs to add an ‘s after the -s. The corrected phrase will look like this: “Lois’s cruel nature.”
An error occurs involving a plural possessive noun ending in -s. Pidd writes, “the Lud’s.” (2). Pidd misplaced the apostrophe between the -d and the -s. The petting zoo belongs to the Luds. The plural noun “Luds” ends in -s. Plural nouns that end in -s takes only an apostrophe to show possession. To eliminate the error, Pidd needs to move the apostrophe from between the -d and the -s to after the -s. The corrected phrase will look like this: “the Luds’.”
Stewart Pidd makes many possessive errors in the essay “The Land That Is Ludville.” Pidd does not understand the rules for possessive noun phrases. Instead of playing with Coach T, Pidd should review the rules for possessive noun phrases.

Works Cited

Pidd, Stewart “The Land That Is Ludville.” 5 May 2009
Pollitt, Gary, and Craig Baker. Stewart Pidd Hates English. Fullerton, CA: Attack The Text Publishing, 2009