That chuffing apostrophe... Help Quizmonster!!!

[gazzawazza]

I know and understand the basic rules of ownership and the use of the apostrophe, but where does it go when I'm trying to say 'The opinions of people...?' Is it 'Peoples' opinions' OR 'People's opinions'?'

Please help Quizmonster or anyone with a better grasp of the written word than what I have...

[Quizmonster]

Normally it would be "people's opinions", Gazza. The word 'people' does, of course, have a plural form such as in the sentence: "The peoples of the world united against tyranny." If you wanted to make a possessive form of that, you would have to say - peoples' - just as you would have to with " the dogs' tails", if you were referring to more than one dog. Normally, though, 'people' is treated as a singular noun - though it represents a plural concept - so the apostrophe comes before the "s". Does that clear things up?

[gazzawazza]

Yes, thanks very much Quizzy, this is the answer I was leaning towards because of the reasons you give. And I would also like to thank the other people who have answered (my postbag says three more) even though I can't see them on the site... somehow the question got posted twice, one seems to have been deleted and with it some replies. Cheers, gazza.

[wildwood]

While we have you here Quizmaster... Is it proper English to use apostroph(ied?) abbreviations in where's, there's, here's etc. as in 'where's my hat', 'there's nothing to see' or 'here's a lolly'? Or is this laziness.

[Quizmonster]

Wildwood...Strictly-speaking, it should be 'apostrophized' rather than 'apostrophied'. Words such as the examples you give are considered to be informal only and they are not used in formal written situations. If you were writing a story, for example, you should not use them in the narrative parts - ie where you are just developing the plot - but they are perfectly acceptable in the dialogue parts, since people do speak thus.

Given the way in which everything seems to becoming more and more informal these days, it probably won't...See what I mean?.. be too long before they become acceptable anywhere.

[gazzawazza]

It's brill isn't it, having our very own english teacher online!!!

[Squirrel]

And one that doesn't (pretend?) to like terrible poetry that consists of the word "grasshopper" arranged in a zigzag. Sorry, it's just I really hated the way English teachers made us analyse poems that were so stupid! By the way, and I know this has been answered, I would use the apostrophe between the last letter and the "S" thing when the word has a plural form different from its singular. E.g. "women's" "data's". But not many people really care anymore.

[isobar]

except squirrel, data is already plural. The singular form is datum. Same with graffiti (plural) and graffito (singular) - isn't Latin a wonderful language? However, would your use of the apostrophe change given that?