Apostrophes

Which is correct?

  • The crime can be punished by up to ten years jail.

    Votes: 86 49.4%

  • The crime can be punished by up to ten years' jail.

    Votes: 65 37.4%

  • They are both correct.

    Votes: 23 13.2%
  • Total voters
    174
The first one is correct because it is the only logical answer I think:)
 
What would you say for the singular? One year or one year'sjail?
 
If you write it in full "10 years in jail" then you can see what the apostrophe is inferring.

or it could be "10 years' gaol"
 
If you write it in full "10 years in jail" then you can see what the apostrophe is inferring.


Check the difference between 'implying' and 'inferring'...
and think about the word 'indicating'.
 
It's still "One year's jail term" -- a jail term of one year.
 
I hope you've been convinced by now. I really liked this 'one-year's time' example.
I'd like to add that I wouldn't use ten years' jail but ten years' time or something like that. Of course, it doesn't mean that it's incorrect;-)
This winter's day is not the same question. It's really the day of the winter, possession, but there are also lots of examples where we use the apostrophy to indicate some length of time, such as two weeks' holiday or even a fortnight's holiday (no plural:-D).
 
The crime can be punished by up to ten years jail.


I think the above sentence should be-
"The crime can be punished by up to ten years in jail."

Or

"The crime can be punished by up to ten years prison."
But, I'm not sure as I'm not a English native speaker.
 
The first option sounds correct, as it means ten years confinement.
 
yeah.. for me, apostrophe is very important because it shows possessiveness.. and if there is no apostrophe, we cant distinguish whether were using the plural or singular form of the verb..
for example:
Teacher's lesson - singular form
Teachers' lesson - plural form
 
Last edited by a moderator:
heavensgate said:
yeah.. for me, apostrophe is very important because it shows possessiveness.. and if there is no apostrophe, we cant distinguish whether were using the plural or singular form of the [STRIKE]verb[/STRIKE] noun..
for example:
Teacher's lesson - singular form
Teachers' lesson - plural form
Click to expand...


The apostrophe also enables you to identify omitted letters [can't/we're] as opposed to words that are words in their own right [cant = insincere talk about religion or morals; were = second person singular past, plural past, and past subjunctive of "be"]
 
a ten-year term
or
ten years' term

In the sentence in question it's not the apostrophe but the word 'jail' used as a 'time-measurable event' that confuses me.
 
yeah, i was right, first sentence is correct!!! Apostrophe cant be used in this sentence.
 
I'd say the second is good
The use of GENITIVE
- people: John's book
- temporal expression: a week's holiday
- distance: a mile's distance
- figure of speech, small animals: at a snail's pace
 
35 posts, and the discussion continues. Posts #2 and 3 sum it up for me.
 
I feel the term ten years is most appropriate than ten years ' for the very reason that the time span is clearly mentioned towards the purpose --( IE) serving sentence in the jail
 
I would write: The crime can be punished by up to ten years in jail.
 
That's cheating a bit. Try using one year and see if you'd add 's.
 
Neither makes sense:

- Ten years jail: What kind of jail is a ten years jail?

- Ten years' jail: How can a jail belong to ten years?

It should be "ten years IN jail." Maybe this is just another difference between British and American English.
 
Charlie Bernstein said:
Neither makes sense:

- Ten years jail: What kind of jail is a ten years jail?

- Ten years' jail: How can a jail belong to ten years?

It should be "ten years IN jail." Maybe this is just another difference between British and American English.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is.
 
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