Monday, February 15, is Presidents’ Day, and many people will spend some time thinking about the accomplishments of our US Presidents.

Some people will also be thinking about that apostrophe: Presidents’ Day.  Why does the apostrophe go after the “s” – and is it really necessary?

Let’s deal with placing the apostrophe first. The US government uses the apostrophe, but not everyone does. I just saw a Volkswagen ad for a Presidents’ Day sale that didn’t use the apostrophe. This is another example of our ever-changing language: Sometimes apostrophes disappear, and possessive nouns become adjectives.

But officially it’s Presidents’ Day. The apostrophe goes after the “s” because we’re honoring Presidents. If we were honoring a single President, it would go after the “t”: President’s Day.

Apostrophes are easy to do (despite what you may remember from school!). Spell the word, and put the apostrophe after the last letter. This trick will work every time.

teacher = teacher’s

teachers = teachers’

people = people’s

puppy = puppy’s

puppies = puppies’

Dan = Dan’s

Louis = Louis’ (or Louis’s)

Let’s go on to the second question: Why is the apostrophe necessary? The answer is that there’s an “of” hidden here: It’s really the Day of the Presidents. Any time you have an “of” idea, use an apostrophe: cat of Joan = Joan’s cat. Pay of a week = a week’s pay.

This may be different from what you heard in school. Teachers often say that apostrophes show ownership, but that can be misleading. For example, take a look at this sentence:

Don’t sit there: That’s Mary’s seat.

Chances are Mary doesn’t own that chair! But it’s the chair of Mary because she usually sits there.

Click here to learn more about apostrophes. You can try a practice activity here, and I’ve posted a presentation about apostrophes here.

Enjoy this wonderful holiday!

 Presidents’ Day