释义 |
noun əˈpɒstrəfiəˈpɑstrəfi A punctuation mark (') used to indicate either possession (e.g. Harry's book; boys' coats) or the omission of letters or numbers (e.g. can't; he's; 1 Jan. '99). 撇号(即') Example sentencesExamples - I firstly must congratulate the author for managing to use an apostrophe of possession correctly, because I don't think I could have got past the first page for worrying about it if she hadn't.
- Use an apostrophe to indicate a missing letter or contracted word.
- The playwrights' experimental use of English (including the absence of capital letters, apostrophes, punctuation, etc.) is one way in which they resist oppression.
- When the possessor is single we indicate possession by using an apostrophe followed by the letter ‘s’ - ‘The man's coat’.
- The alphabet was created with not only the familiar lettering of English but also with periods, underlines on letters, and apostrophes to distinguish particular sounds.
- But the evidence shows that possessive apostrophes have been dropping like flies for years.
- For what it's worth, the offending sign uses an apostrophe to suggest the possessive of a singular noun instead of the plural intention.
- But even users of low-end databases can benefit from using placeholders because they ensure strings will be quoted correctly, even if they contain quotation marks or apostrophes.
- In fact, using its with an apostrophe in its possessive sense sits uncomfortably within the orbit of ‘applied excellence’.
- If you've ever despaired over the misuses and misunderstandings, and just plain apathy around punctuation these days (errant apostrophes et al.) then this book will delight you.
- The meaning of a word is never unclear because an apostrophe has been misused, a fact that ought to be self evident since spoken language seems to get along just fine even though it has never evolved a verbal cue to indicate an apostrophe.
- Still others prefer a middle option that keeps the apostrophe for omission and elision but drops it for plurality and possession.
- However, because he didn't know how to use the possessive apostrophe, it became known simply as ‘French toast’.
- This book's a success, it's true, even though it's about commas, apostrophes, colons, dashes and other marks.
- The concept of the possessive apostrophe appears to have evaded his fine mind.
- There's an unconfirmed rumor floating that as a sophomore he placed an apostrophe before the last letter of a word that ended in ‘s.’
- The use of an apostrophe here indicates a contraction of ‘it is’ or ‘it has,’ which would make little sense in the context of this banner.
- I assume that I have that correct, as it is many grocers who have apostrophes and therefore the apostrophe goes after the s which indicates the plural.
- My advice, then, is this - if in doubt about whether to use an apostrophe to form a possessive, put it in; but if in doubt whether to use one to form a plural, leave it out.
- Out of respect for the opinions of others, I try to use apostrophes and commas correctly, but I'm less interested in the details of punctuation than in nearly any other topic I can think of.
Synonyms leaving out, exclusion, exception, non-inclusion, deletion, erasure, cut, excision, elimination, absence
UsageMany people are uncertain when to use an apostrophe, and this confusion is probably increased by the fact that it is often omitted in company names (e.g. Barclays Bank). The apostrophe should be used when indicating possession (Sue's cat) or the omission of letters or numbers (he's gone, 1 Jan. '09). It should not be used in forming the plural of ordinary words, as in apple's and pear's or I saw two dog's, or in possessive pronouns such as hers, yours, or theirs. See also its OriginMid 16th century (denoting the omission of one or more letters): via late Latin, from Greek apostrophos 'accent of elision', from apostrephein 'turn away', from apo 'from' + strephein 'to turn'. noun əˈpɒstrəfiəˈpɑstrəfi Rhetoric An exclamatory passage in a speech or poem addressed to a person (typically one who is dead or absent) or thing (typically one that is personified). 〔修辞〕呼语法 Example sentencesExamples - What better trope for the undertaking than the apostrophe?
- Let us note, first of all, that hyperbole and apostrophe are the forms of language not only most agreeable to it but also most necessary.
- Opening with an apostrophe to the Queen, the poet wastes no time in presenting her with the image of Mother France being captured, stripped, and beaten by her own children.
- Further, the use of apostrophe in the form of direct addresses to the saints creates the impression of direct communication.
- To stress apostrophe, personification, prosopopoeia, and hyperbole is to join the theorists who through the ages have emphasized what distinguishes the lyric from other speech acts, what makes it the most literary of forms.
Synonyms deviation, detour, diversion, departure, excursus
OriginMid 16th century: via Latin from Greek apostrophē 'turning away', from apostrephein 'turn away' (see apostrophe1). nounəˈpästrəfēəˈpɑstrəfi A punctuation mark ( ’ ) used to indicate either possession (e.g., Harry's book; boys' coats) or the omission of letters or numbers (e.g., can't; he's; class of ’99). 撇号(即') Example sentencesExamples - For what it's worth, the offending sign uses an apostrophe to suggest the possessive of a singular noun instead of the plural intention.
- The meaning of a word is never unclear because an apostrophe has been misused, a fact that ought to be self evident since spoken language seems to get along just fine even though it has never evolved a verbal cue to indicate an apostrophe.
- There's an unconfirmed rumor floating that as a sophomore he placed an apostrophe before the last letter of a word that ended in ‘s.’
- But the evidence shows that possessive apostrophes have been dropping like flies for years.
- I assume that I have that correct, as it is many grocers who have apostrophes and therefore the apostrophe goes after the s which indicates the plural.
- The playwrights' experimental use of English (including the absence of capital letters, apostrophes, punctuation, etc.) is one way in which they resist oppression.
- The alphabet was created with not only the familiar lettering of English but also with periods, underlines on letters, and apostrophes to distinguish particular sounds.
- This book's a success, it's true, even though it's about commas, apostrophes, colons, dashes and other marks.
- Use an apostrophe to indicate a missing letter or contracted word.
- Out of respect for the opinions of others, I try to use apostrophes and commas correctly, but I'm less interested in the details of punctuation than in nearly any other topic I can think of.
- I firstly must congratulate the author for managing to use an apostrophe of possession correctly, because I don't think I could have got past the first page for worrying about it if she hadn't.
- In fact, using its with an apostrophe in its possessive sense sits uncomfortably within the orbit of ‘applied excellence’.
- When the possessor is single we indicate possession by using an apostrophe followed by the letter ‘s’ - ‘The man's coat’.
- The concept of the possessive apostrophe appears to have evaded his fine mind.
- If you've ever despaired over the misuses and misunderstandings, and just plain apathy around punctuation these days (errant apostrophes et al.) then this book will delight you.
- The use of an apostrophe here indicates a contraction of ‘it is’ or ‘it has,’ which would make little sense in the context of this banner.
- But even users of low-end databases can benefit from using placeholders because they ensure strings will be quoted correctly, even if they contain quotation marks or apostrophes.
- Still others prefer a middle option that keeps the apostrophe for omission and elision but drops it for plurality and possession.
- However, because he didn't know how to use the possessive apostrophe, it became known simply as ‘French toast’.
- My advice, then, is this - if in doubt about whether to use an apostrophe to form a possessive, put it in; but if in doubt whether to use one to form a plural, leave it out.
Synonyms leaving out, exclusion, exception, non-inclusion, deletion, erasure, cut, excision, elimination, absence
UsageThe apostrophe is used to indicate missing letters or numbers (bo'sun; the summer of ’63), to form some possessives (see possessive), and to form some plurals (see plural) OriginMid 16th century (denoting the omission of one or more letters): via late Latin, from Greek apostrophos ‘accent of elision’, from apostrephein ‘turn away’, from apo ‘from’ + strephein ‘to turn’. nounəˈpästrəfēəˈpɑstrəfi Rhetoric An exclamatory passage in a speech or poem addressed to a person (typically one who is dead or absent) or thing (typically one that is personified). 〔修辞〕呼语法 Example sentencesExamples - Opening with an apostrophe to the Queen, the poet wastes no time in presenting her with the image of Mother France being captured, stripped, and beaten by her own children.
- What better trope for the undertaking than the apostrophe?
- Let us note, first of all, that hyperbole and apostrophe are the forms of language not only most agreeable to it but also most necessary.
- Further, the use of apostrophe in the form of direct addresses to the saints creates the impression of direct communication.
- To stress apostrophe, personification, prosopopoeia, and hyperbole is to join the theorists who through the ages have emphasized what distinguishes the lyric from other speech acts, what makes it the most literary of forms.
Synonyms deviation, detour, diversion, departure, excursus
OriginMid 16th century: via Latin from Greek apostrophē ‘turning away’, from apostrephein ‘turn away’ (see apostrophe). |