Further vs Farther and Apostrophes with Dates

Yup, it's still Thursday! Here's your second post for the day (because I'm playing a bit of catchup). It's short, sweet, and to the point. We're going over further and farther--two words that get confused more often than I like to admit. To my point: I have a post-it over my desk to remind me which one is which. *holds fingers in L to forehead* Another post-it I have up is about dates. So, grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

To put it simply:

Further is figurative distance, or something intangible that can't be measured by standard means.
Farther is physical distance, or something you can apply a tape measure to, resulting in a concrete number.

Examples:
She didn't want to speak further on the topic.
If he'd pried into my mother's illness any further, I would've smacked him.

I walked farther into the woods.
Because my arms are longer, I can reach farther than you.

I hope this little tip helps you keep them straight, too. My post-it looks like this:

I have others, but that's one I need to reference often.

On to dates!

When you're writing dates, remember not to use an apostrophe with the S.

It should look like this:
1990s
or
2940s
not
1990's

Examples:
I used my time-travel machine to go back and visit the 1800s for a week.
In my research, I found that time-travel might become possible by the 2900s.

Get it? No apostrophes with dates! *grin*

If you want a tip on lay and lie, go visit my cohort, Tia Silverthorne Bach. She's got a cute image to help you keep them straight.

Did these tips help at all? What do you confuse?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

PoSSeSSive S

Happy Hump-day, everyone! Snow in Georgia again and all the kiddies are out of school. I have to say, I'm more than ready for spring so I can get back to a normal schedule. This weather and being sick last month has really thrown me off. Anyway, enough about all that. Let's move on to today's post about the possessive S. Grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

If you aren't familiar with INDIE Books Gone Wild, allow me to share a bit of information with you. Every now and then, one of us posts on that blog about grammar, punctuation, or other little tidbits we find frequent errors revolving around. Before we get to the good stuff here, pop on over there and check out Tia's post on the Apostrophe. Yeah, it matters. Go read that sucker.

Now, I'm a Chicago Manual of Style lady. I have a copy of the 15th edition, and I follow it to the letter when doing an edit. Of course, this causes some of my clients to have small hernias when they don't agree with my edits or they have a style guide that's different from mine (which is totally fine, they should go with what feels right to them). I try to be very clear on our About Us page over on IBGW and state that I use the book I own as a reference. So, today's discussion will be the rules from that style guide.

When you show possession of a singular noun (not the demonic kind), the rule says you add an apostrophe and an S to the end of the word (section 7.17). Examples:

• Dora's shoes.
• Kitten's playground.
• Lola's necklace.

But what if those words end in S?

Well, here's where we get into a bit of a pickle. When choosing names, one usually avoids the ones ending in S so they don't have this conundrum. If you happen to select one that ends in S, how do you handle it? This is where the general guides don't agree.

If you're showing possession of a collective, like a family or group whose names or title of the collective end in S, the solution is easy, you add an apostrophe to the end. Examples:

• The Huss' house (this is the Huss family).
• The Picketts' son (this is the Picketts family).
• Those kittens' meows (more than one kitten).
• These dogs' leashes (more than one dog).

However, if you have a character who's named Cleatus, how do you show possession?

In section 7.18, page 282 of The Chicago Manual of Style 15th Edition, it states: The general rule covers most proper names, including names ending in s, x, or z, in both their singular and plural forms, as well as letters and numbers. This means writing the name and adding an apostrophe with another S at the end. Examples:

• I saw Cleatus's sneakers over there.
• We went to the mall to get Kriss's new purse.
• I can listen for hours to Venheis's violin.

Now, this is the way it's written out in the guideline. I think, when reading, it keeps me from thinking there's more than one Cleatus who owns sneakers I saw over there, and makes the possessive name read more easily.

All this is great! But...

Yeah, you knew there was a but. *grin*

In section 7.23, there's a suggestion for an alternative usage by simply adding the apostrophe to the end of the name. While easier to remember and apply, I think it reads with a clunky timbre. But, try it both ways and see what works for you. This goes back to Tia's post I mentioned above, where she talks about Strunk and White.

Before we wrap this post on possessive S up, I'd like to remind you of another rule of possession you may not be familiar with. Section 7.24 talks about more than one noun. When mutually exclusive, both nouns get an apostrophe S. If both are owning the same item, only the second named gets the punctuation. Examples:

• My daughter-in-law and son's house.
• Our niece and nephew's car.
• or
• My ex daughter-in-law's and son's houses.
• Our niece's and nephew's cars.

Seems a lot of stress rests on the S.

How can you avoid this when writing fiction? Easy: Choose names that don't end in S when you're making your list.

I hope you all enjoyed our little lesson for today. If you have questions, comments, or otherwise, feel free to pop them into the comments section.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo