|
Post by tillystar on May 12, 2009 5:57:31 GMT
Yeah you know who you are Ok now this is one I have gone backwards and forwards in my mind over the years: Three weeks' notice or Three weeks notice? One week's notice or one weeks notice, or even one week notice?! I have googled and the www seems full of people arguing good reasoning on both points. I really have better things to do with my life but I have to do something for a linguistics school and I know already they will pick up on it. I used to have an Oxford Grammar reference which I would trust (at least I could refer that source rather than "grammar pedants blogs who live getting their knickers ina twist over apostrophe usage.com") and use but can't find it. Does anyone have one, or maybe just swallowed one years ago and knows everything?
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on May 12, 2009 6:14:53 GMT
I hope you're happy. Now I am going back and forth, back and forth over this. Check this out: www.refdesk.com/factgram.htmlFurther googling produced something that corroborated what I was thinking: Tip No. 4: If the word in question is plural, change it to a singular. If the "s" remains, it is obviously functioning as a possessive "s" rather than a plural "s."
Example No. 1: two weeks' notice/one week's notice. Since the "s" remains on the singular form, the "s" must be functioning as a possessive "s." Since "week's" is singular, the apostrophe precedes the "s."from: www.grammardoctor.com/archive10.htm
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 12, 2009 6:54:55 GMT
I do not see this as a possessive at all. The notice does not belong to the weeks. The notice is of three weeks, so I would say three weeks notice or a three week notice.
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on May 12, 2009 7:06:06 GMT
I see I got that wrong then, Tilly.
|
|
|
Post by tillystar on May 12, 2009 7:28:31 GMT
I am of K's thinking that it is not possessive an in this case "three weeks" is an adjective, but then websites argued that an apostrophe should be used to indicate measures or a missing "of" for other odd reasons, which were all a bit too confusing to me and made me run over here screaming.
Honestly, its all too much for my tiny little mind.
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on May 12, 2009 7:30:59 GMT
When you do have to know by? (terrible grammar I know!)....
|
|
|
Post by tillystar on May 12, 2009 7:35:54 GMT
Well early this morning ideally, I think it will be fun just to ask the guys themselves but would like to have a "reason" why I think one way or the other so I don't sound like a total numpty (I think I may have secret yearning to be one of those grammar people at heart )
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 12, 2009 7:42:32 GMT
Frankly, I feel that my opinion is a minority view (or perhaps one of those English vs. American variations) and that the 'official' correct reply is indeed three weeks' notice. Nevertheless, I find it quite debatable.
|
|
|
Post by bazfaz on May 12, 2009 7:55:38 GMT
I go by what I suggested elsewhere: a fortnight's notice plus one week.
|
|
|
Post by hwinpp on May 12, 2009 8:04:25 GMT
I'd go with the possessive apostrophe.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on May 12, 2009 9:50:40 GMT
I just had a look in my old Oxford Basic English usage:
"We can use possessives in expressions of time: a week's holiday, four days' journey." This is in the section on numbers.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on May 12, 2009 11:43:23 GMT
I'd opt for weeks'.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on May 12, 2009 14:51:02 GMT
..... an apostrophe should be used to indicate measures or [highlight=Yellow]a missing "of"[/highlight] ...... That's my thinking on it. Try mentally sticking in the words "worth of" after the time, i.e, "a week's worth of notice".
|
|
|
Post by patricklondon on May 13, 2009 12:26:10 GMT
I agree with using the apostrophe, whether or not it implies a possessive element or a missing element, or something else: whatever the justification, custom and usage expect it (in my world, at least). But it's hardly a sign of illiteracy not to use it, providing that the sense is clear.
The one thing we can all agree on is that a singular possessive (greengrocer's) apostrophe ("three week's notice") would be absolutely wrong.
|
|