To Err is Forbidden

The other day, while sending a message promoting my new Page on Facebook, one of my worst professional nightmares came true. In the millisecond between hitting the “Send” button and seeing the happy, “Message Sent!” window, I caught a glimpse of an egregious typo. I was mortified.

Now, I know that most of the people I sent the message to probably didn’t even notice. And those who did notice probably assumed that I was just in a hurry and typing quickly (both true), but it’s a tough pill for me to swallow nonetheless. I suppose the thing that bothers me the most about this error, is that I wasn’t practicing what I preach. I always tell my clients and audiences that when composing a message online, they should write the message in Word (or another app that has a spelling checker), then cut and paste it into the online document. But I didn’t do that. I was in a hurry and just shot it off without thinking. Shame on me.

I realize that as a writer I am held to a higher standard than most when it comes to such things. And this is as it should be, because I put myself out there as an expert. After all, you wouldn’t continue to see a chiropractor who constantly complained of aches and pains or a tax preparer who was routinely audited, would you? Of course not. So when I make an obvious error like the one I made on Facebook, I tend to beat myself up over it.

But in the light of a new day, I can honestly say that I’m glad that it happened. OK, maybe glad is a strong word, but every once in a while I need a swift kick to remind me to slow down and take my own advice. And you can learn from my mistake, too. Remember to follow these steps when writing anything:
Plan
Write
Read
Check
(And if possible, share.)

And now, this week's grammar lesson:

Plural Possessives (Aw, c'mon! It'll be fun!)

Making a noun possessive is easy. You add an apostrophe 's, right? Well, almost. You have to consider the form of the word before the apostrophe, because it shows how many owners there are.

If the word is a singular noun (one owner), always add 's, regardless of its ending.

Elizabeth's typo
The dress's hem
The ox's hoof

If the word is plural and ends in s, just add the apostrophe.

Both kids' cookies
The dresses' hems
The boss' office

If the word is plural and doesn’t end in s, add 's.

The children's cookies
Men's shoes
The oxen's hooves

But make sure you have formed the plural correctly before adding the possessive. Most of the confusion in this area comes from proper names, so here are the rules for that: Usually, you will form the plural of a name simply by adding s.

There were two Claires in the room.
Both of the Roberts are tall.

But, if the name ends in s, sh, ch, z or x, add es.

The Gomezes are coming to dinner. (More than one Gomez)
The Marxes ate all the cookies. (More than one Marx)

Now that you have formed the correct plural, (Gomezes, Marxes) you can add the possessive by following the rules above.

The Marxes' cookies (The cookies belong to more than one Marx.)
The Gomezes' children (The children belong to more than one Gomez.)

Simple, right? If not, send me your specific examples (Thanks, C.P.) and I’ll try to help you out.
And thanks for sending in your questions and comments. They really helped me to know what kinds of grammar issues you struggle with. I find them very inspiring.

Write on!