If the person had two ma degrees then they would be his masters degrees and his masters of arts. The problem nearly always seems to stem from not understanding that the apostrophe has two very different and very important uses in english. With plural nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe after the s. Academic degrees writing style guide western michigan. A master of fine arts, a master of public administration, a master of research, and beyond can be shortened to a. Note that the apostrophe s is not used with master of arts or bachelor of arts, but is used with masters degree and bachelors degree. Grammar mastery test the blue book of grammar and punctuation.
Note that when you pluralize the phrase as a whole, only degree gets the plural s. If you are going to be a master of fine arts, then your degree possessive would be a masters degree. The apostrophe and colon with free interactive flashcards. Normally, we write masters degree, with the apostrophe. Monash editorial guide apostrophes monash university. But as we wrote in 2008, when a plural noun is used as the modifier, some organizations dont use an apostrophe. You wont get arrested by the grammar police for using your brain. Why is the apostrophe before the s in masters degree and bachelors degree.
A colon is commonly used to introduce a series or list. The apostrophe probably causes more grief than all of the other punctuation marks put together. My department offers bachelors and masters degrees but not a doctorate. For the plurals of familiar compound nouns like drivers license and masters degree, the apostrophe stays the same. Writers express all the common pitfalls are tackled, from the terrors of the apostrophe to the most frequently misspelt words. Dec 19, 2018 normally, we write masters degree, with the apostrophe. Why we say bachelors and masters for degrees english. How do you write masters degree and bachelors degree. American indian, native american american indian is preferred, but native american may also be used, depending on the wishes of the individual. Standard dictionaries, as well as the chicago manual of style 17th ed. There are four ways to use the apostrophe to show ownership or belonging.
Apostrophes punctuation rules the blue book of grammar. Think of the degree as the property of the bachelor, with the apostrophes indicating possession. The apostrophe or character is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the latin alphabet and some other alphabets. Babs and mams level degrees demonstrate a level of achievement. For each of the following, choose the correct sentence. Oct 23, 2007 since it is only one degree, it is a master of arts or master of science. American indian, native american american indian is preferred, but native american may also be. On our blog, we follow the chicago manual of style 16th ed. Speaking generically, you would write masters degree. To identify degrees earned at wmu, place a comma immediately after the name, and follow it with a space, the degree, an apostrophe, the twonumeral year the degree was awarded, and a comma or period at the end of a sentence.
There are conflicting policies and theories about how to show possession when writing such nouns. As we mention in the article, capitalization and especially capitalization of academic degrees is a thorny area, open to interpretation. Jacks ballet class, roberts pc vladimirs account sashas pc if the name ends in s, add an s to create the possessive form. Use an apostrophe in the position the omitted letters would have occupied. In a masters degree, does masters have an apostrophe. While its generally considered correct to include an apostrophe in masters degree, there are some publications including academic ones that dont.
Its amazing that so many universities including oxford and cambridge have inconsistency on this. Jan 31, 2018 as we mention in the article, capitalization and especially capitalization of academic degrees is a thorny area, open to interpretation. A masters degree is the degree possessed by the individual. By confirming, you are consenting to receiving the free e book, 35 mistakes to avoid in your writing, the free writing explained newsletter, as well as other. He received his bachelors degree, masters degree and ph. He has a law degree and a masters degree in classical studies from columbia university. A student can become a bachelor or master of arts or sciences a ba, bs.
Here, the s in masters shows a possessive the degree of a master, not a plural. To show possession with a singular noun, add an apostrophe plus the letter s. Many common nouns end in the letter s lens, cactus, bus, etc. Nov 04, 2010 the punctuation mark is called apostrophe.
It shows a relationship of belonging between one thing and another. A master of fine arts, a master of public administration, a master of research, and beyond can be shortened to a masters degree, a degree of masters. With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make nouns plural. Capitalization of academic degrees grammar and punctuation. In this case masters refers to a general type of degree. The cambridge grammar of the english language, for example, would. Speaking of a specific degree, you would capitalize master. When masters degree becomes plural, is it masters degrees or masters degrees. Most of them possessed masters degrees, and a few had earned their. A masters degree normally requires previous study at the bachelors level, either as a separate degree or as part of an integrated course. If the noun is plural, or already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s.
When contractions are used, the apostrophe replaces the letter or letters that were removed to make a shorter word. I have two bachelors degrees and one masters degree. Feb 11, 2016 bachelors or masters on its own does not give you the full noun it is, rather, a possessive description that should be followed by degree. Mar 08, 2012 since youre not referring to a single person s bachelor s or associate s degree, the apostrophe should come after the s this is not true. Youre almost done and your free e book is almost on its way. Home youre almost done youre almost done and your free e book is almost on its way. He holds a master of fine arts from state university. The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. When used generically and not part of a title as above, the terms masters degree and bachelors degree are written in lowercase and with an apostrophe before the s showing singular possession. When it comes to abbreviating academic degrees, youd better check the style book that governs your work. Bachelors or masters on its own does not give you the full noun it is, rather, a possessive description that should be followed by degree.
The marking of the omission of one or more letters as in the contraction of do not to dont the marking of possessive case of nouns as in the eagles feathers, or in one months time. On a resume, it would be preferable to write master of arts or masters degree. Masters apostrophe masters degree or masters degree. Plurals, past tenses or other grammatical changes to italicised titles or. Grammar checkers will not help you much with your apostrophes.
The marking of the omission of one or more letters as in the contraction of do not to dont. Use an apostrophe to indicate a noun is possessive. But before i complete your subscription and send you this exclusive content, you must verify your email to confirm that i have your permission to email you. We also lowercase masters when used generically as in my son is working on a masters degree. The apostrophe is always placed at the spot where the letters has been remove. The apostrophe is before the s in master s and bachelor s because the degree is considered a degree of a master i. Jacks ballet class, roberts pc vladimirs account sashas pc if the name ends in s, add an s to create the.
Unless smith and maynard have written separate books, in which case it would read. In grammar speak, the apostrophe shows the possessive of nouns. Sometimes, its called the grocers apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements 3 oranges for a dollar. Some of the desserts was left by the end of the birthday party. The apostrophe in contractions the most common use of apostrophes in english is for contractions, where a noun. If there are more than one errors, separate corrected words with a space and a hyphen as in the examples. Whether youre a bachelor, a bachelorette, single, married, or anywhere in between doesnt matter, of course. A master s degree from latin magister is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a highorder overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
I mens health was an issue in the federal election. Id surmise, based on that information, the apostrophe is the correct way of spelling that. Apostrophe english grammar today cambridge dictionary. Explaining why bachelors and masters have an s at the end, to describe degrees, and whether they should have an apostrophe. Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. When someone is awarded a masters degree, they are recognized as having sufficient knowledge in a field of study to be called a master of it. Jun, 2012 a bachelor is not just a guy who eats out a lot, but also a person of either sex who has earned a type of degree from a university or college. Since youre not referring to a single persons bachelors or associates degree, the apostrophe should come after the s this is not true. A masters degree is the degree possessed by the individual who earned it. With singular nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe and s. Proper use of apostrophe in the term masters programs. Note that both bachelors degree and masters degree, when used in a generic sense, require an apostrophe. The use of master of arts without the word degree is just a shortened form. Some desserts was left by the end of the birthday party.
Ap style states that you should use an apostrophe in bachelors degree and masters degree. Some of the dessert were left by the end of the birthday party. Further, if we just want an authoritative source then the ap style book tells us academic degrees put an apostrophe in bachelors degree and masters degree. See more ideas about punctuation, grammar and grammar and punctuation. Possessive here is a grammar term also known as the genitive and is nothing to do with. Thats why the correct way to spell masters degree is with an apostropheits the degree of a master. A masters degree would be one degree earned by possessed by two or more masters. A bachelor is not just a guy who eats out a lot, but also a person of either sex who has earned a type of degree from a university or college. The apostrophe in masters degree functions identically to the apostrophe in other words indicating possession. Get bonus grammar guides and never miss a new article along with. Add apostrophe s to the end of a singular noun that does not end in s. Each entry starts with a simple explanation and basic examples before moving to reallife, entertaining examples. Minding my associates and bachelors grammar apostrophe. The apostrophe is all about making a statement of ownership.
A masters degree from latin magister is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a highorder overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. Buy our book smashing grammar 2019 written by the founder of grammar monster, smashing grammar includes a glossary of grammar essentials from apostrophes to zeugma and a chapter on easily confused words from affecteffect to whetherif. Apostrophe english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. Think of the degree as the property of the bachelor, with the apostrophe s indicating possession. Only grammar masters can pass this apostrophe test share on facebook it takes some pretty advanced grammar skills to be able to identify where apostrophes belong and where they do not. Why we say bachelors and masters for degrees english lessons. Googling masters without the apostrophe resulted in many other results not related to a degree granted by an academic institution. The degree is a master of arts or master of sciences, therefore a masters degree is the degree of a master in that subject. While bachelors degree and masters degree, when used in a generic sense, typically require an apostrophe, we use the australian qualifications framework aqf titles bachelor degree and masters degree. Masters degree or masters degree grammarforexperts.
However, long term use has made it be understood as a noun on its own, so we can say bachelors and be understood to mean bachelors degree the first word of a compound noun has come to stand in for. I browsed the corpus of contemporary american english and got the impression that the first two are more often used than a master student. Do we usually write a masters student,a masters student or a master student when we mean he or she is studying or doing research to get that degree. Some of the dessert was left by the end of the birthday party. The terms masters degree and bachelors degree are written in lowercase and with an apostrophe before the s. Similarly, cow s milk which is clearly not from a single cow is considered milk of a cow. However, when we talk of a degree in a specific field, like the science or arts, we drop the apostrophe and the s.
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