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We used to have two holidays in February: Lincolnâs Birthday and Washingtonâs Birthday. Now, we have three, though most of us usually get only one of them off: Lincolnâs Birthday, Washingtonâs Birthday and âPresidents Day.â Er, âPresidentâs Day.â Um, âPresidentsâ Day.â
This is going to be fun.
News organizations have used all three presidential iterations for the holiday on the third Monday in February, in surprisingly close proportions. That migrating or missing apostrophe is emblematic of a larger issue in language todayâforgetting how to punctuate possessives.
Under ordinary circumstances, forming a possessive is pretty simple: Add ââsâ unless the possessor is already plural, in which case add only the apostrophe. The holiday under discussion replaced Lincolnâs Birthday and Washingtonâs Birthday in many places, so it celebrates more than one president. Thus, itâs âPresidentsâ Day.â
Of course, Associated Press style isnât quite as straightforward as thisâit has varying rules for when to use apostrophes with nouns plural in form, singular in meaning; nouns the same in singular and plural; singular nouns not ending in s; singular common nouns ending in s; singular proper names ending in s; special expressions; compound words; joint possession, individual possession; descriptive phrases; descriptive names; quasi possessives; double possessive; and inanimate objects. And thatâs not even taking into account that personal possessive pronounsââhis, hers, etc.âdonât have apostrophes at all. Perhaps having to understand all those nuances of apostrophiana is what led to the rampant misuse of the possessive apostrophe and, by extension, the contraction apostrophe (as in âitsâ vs. âitâsâ).
Would that it were as easy as that.
The Associated Press Stylebook calls for âPresidents Day,â where âPresidentsâ isnât possessive at all, but a descriptive, meaning acting as an adjective. But most dictionaries, including Websterâs New World, the official dictionary of the AP, call for âPresidentsâ Day.â
Some states observe Lincolnâs Birthday and âPresidentsâ Dayâ; others have just âPresidentsâ Dayâ (or âPresidents Dayâ). But as far as the federal government is concerned, âPresidentsâ Dayâ (or âPresidents Dayâ) doesnât exist: The third Monday in February is officially designated as Washingtonâs Birthday. So while calling it âPresidentâs Dayâ is accurate in a federal, Talmudic wayâbecause it celebrates just one presidentâitâs wrong. That Washingtonâs Birthday can never fall on Washingtonâs actual birthday, Feb. 22 (the third Monday has to fall between the 15th and 21st) seems of no moment to the Feds.
As for where the apostrophe belongs, well, if you follow AP style, forget about it.
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