Chapter 5 Compound and Possessive Nouns McGraw-Hill/Irwin Business English at Work, 3/e © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Objectives Form plurals and possessives of compound nouns. Recognize nominative, objective, and possessive case nouns. Differentiate between plural and possessive forms of nouns. Form possessives of singular, plural, and irregular nouns. PP 5-1a

Objectives continued Identify correct forms of organization, association, and company names. Form possessives of abbreviations, joint or separate ownership, and understood ownership. PP 5-1b

Compound Nouns... Consist of two or more words. May be written as one word, as hyphenated words, or as two words. May not be spelled the same in all dictionaries. PP 5-2

Plurals of One-Word Compound Nouns l To form the plural of a one-word compound noun, follow the general rules for plurals. birthdaybirthdays printoutprintouts bookshelfbookshelves photocopyphotocopies PP 5-3

Plurals of Hyphenated Compounds With Nouns l To form the plural of a hyphenated compound noun, make the most important word plural. sister-in-lawsisters-in-law runner-uprunners-up time-outtime-outs PP 5-4

Plurals of Hyphenated Compound Nouns Without Nouns l To form the plural of a hyphenated compound word without nouns, add the s or es to the last word. go-betweengo-betweens hang-uphang-ups hand-me-downhand-me-downs has-beenhas-beens PP 5-5

Plurals of Compound Nouns With Spaces l To form the plural of a compound noun with spaces, make the most important word plural. attorney at lawattorneys at law couch potatocouch potatoes account payableaccounts payable lieutenant generallieutenant generals PP 5-6

Cases of Nouns or Pronouns Nominative nouns or pronouns act as subjects of a sentence, as appositives, or as subject complements. The Webmaster makes all the changes to our Web pages. Jerome, our Webmaster, works until 11 p.m. Jerome is our Webmaster. PP 5-7a

Cases of Nouns or Pronouns continued Objective nouns or pronouns act as direct objects, indirect objects, objects of prepositions, or objects of infinitives. Jackie Huerta supervises our Webmaster. Jerome gave Jackie the passwords. Jerome discussed the Web page with Jackie. Jerome decided to limit access to the network. PP 5-7b

Cases of Nouns or Pronouns continued Possessive nouns or pronouns show that someone or something owns or possesses something else (another noun). They may also indicate a relationship between two nouns. The Webmaster’s hours were long this week. Julie’s friend recommended the new software. PP 5-7c

Possessive Singular Noun l Form the possessive of a singular noun by adding an apostrophe and s (’s). Always look for the possessor of an item. Jerome’s office is always locked. The manager’s recommendation was excellent. The Webmaster’s new graphics are unique. PP 5-8

Possessive Plural Nouns l Form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in s or es by adding only an apostrophe. The customers’ suggestions improved our online order form. l Form the possessive of a plural noun that does not end in s by adding an apostrophe and s (’s). A color printer is in the children’s classroom. The women programmers developed a women’s career Web page. PP 5-9

Separate and Joint Ownership l Use an apostrophe in all names of persons or companies to indicate separate ownership of an item or items. Troy’s and Michael’s computers l Use an apostrophe in the last of two or more names to show joint ownership of an item or items. Troy and Michael’s reports PP 5-10

Organization, Association, and Company Names Use the form that the company, organization, or association displays on its logo, product, or letterhead. Some companies use an apostrophe and s; others do not. Albertson’s Food & Drug Giovanni’s Italian Delicatessen Stars Music Watersavers Irrigation PP 5-11

Compound Noun l Form the possessive of a singular compound noun by adding an apostrophe and s at the end of the word. The stockholder’s shares increased in value this year. l Form the possessive of a plural compound noun that does not end in s by adding an apostrophe and s at the end of the word. The chiefs of police’s duties differed slightly in each city. PP 5-12a

Compound Noun continued l Form the possessive of a plural compound noun that ends in s by adding only an apostrophe at the end of the word. The vice presidents’ decision pleased the employees. PP 5-12b

Abbreviations l Form the possessive of a singular abbreviation by adding an apostrophe and s. the CPA’s report the CEO’s recommendation l Form the possessive of a plural abbreviation by adding only an apostrophe. HMOs’ requirements Ph.D.s’ offices PP 5-13

Time and Amounts l Form the possessive of a noun expressing time or an amount in the same way as other nouns. a week’s delay three weeks’ accumulation of five hours’ wait a year’s quota PP 5-14

Understood Possession l Use an apostrophe and s (’s) or an apostrophe (’) to show possession of a noun that is understood but not stated. Last year’s online sales were better than this year’s. Terry’s Web page received more visitors than Lorie’s. PP 5-15