What do the following have in common: haggis, apostrophes and Mozart?

Well, I know what I'm cooking this weekend; Saturday is the 25th of January, so it's got to be haggis. It's time to celebrate what would have been the 255th birthday of Robert Burns, Scotland's "ploughman poet". As a Scot, I'm preprogrammed to eat haggis at the end of January. I don't need a reminder that The Bard's birthday is coming up, even though it's well documented in the media throughout January. Burns was just 37 when he died, but it's wonderful to think that, despite his short life, his poems and songs moved people to such an extent that even now, over 200 years after his death, people around the world still get together once a year to celebrate his life – and it's always one hell of a party! 

I noticed today that my calendar app has an entry for the 25th of January entitled "Robert Burn's Night". I see these misspelt references to Burns all over the media and, as they say in Glasgow, "it does ma heid in". Robert's surname was Burns, not Burn, which means that calling it a Burn's Supper is clearly wrong. If there is an apostrophe, it should be Burns' Supper: the supper of Burns. But do we need to add an apostrophe at all?




The rule for using apostrophes

When we make something possessive (to indicate that one thing belongs to another thing), we add 's. Hence:

• the cat's mat
• the children's laughter
• a week's holiday
• somebody's violin
• Scotland's poet

This rule applies in most cases, even with a name ending in s. Hence:

• James's friend
• the bus's departure
• the haggis's wee stumpy legs

Some people prefer to use the form James' friend. Although this is acceptable, the above version is better (and correct according to most books on grammar) as it reflects how we pronounce the word: we say James–iz friend.

As with everything in English grammar, there are always exceptions to the rule. Here are two:

1. A plural noun already ending in s takes only an apostrophe (not 's) to show possession:

• the cats' mat
• the girls' laughter
• two weeks' holiday
• my parents' visit

This makes sense as we don't pronounce these words with two esses. We don't say the cats–iz mat. When we have a plural that does not end in s, such as men, children, etc., we use the regular form and add 's to the end, as in women's shoes.

2. A name that ends in s takes only an apostrophe (not 's) if the possessive form is not pronounced with the additional s. Hence, whereas we pronounce the two esses in James's friend, we pronounce only one s in the following:

• Camille Saint-Saëns' music
• Socrates' philosophy

Please remember...

1. Pronouns do not take apostrophes:

• The cat sat on its mat.
• They raised their glasses.
• She played her fiddle.
• Whose are these shoes?

Many people don't understand the difference between its and it's. Its is the possessive form and it's is the shortened form of it is or it has. Don't get them mixed up; some people get very upset when they see this – and it's very common to see this mistake in our world of digital communication.

2. Decades do not take apostrophes unless they are being used in the possessive form:

• In the 1970s – the s here indicates a plural not a possessive
• 1976's heatwave – 's indicates a possessive, i.e. the heatwave of 1976

3. Apostrophes should not be used to indicate plurals. (This is often referred to as "the greengrocer's apostrophe"):

• lettuces (not lettuce's)
• videos and CDs (not video's and CD's)
• the Joneses are coming (not the Jones's are coming)
• the three Rs (not R's)

But do we need an apostrophe in Burns Night at all?

When we use the terms Burns Night and Burns Supper we are using the word Burns as an adjective to describe the night or the supper; therefore, we don't need to use an apostrophe. Other examples are:

• Guy Fawkes Night 
• Veterans Day

Well, that's the haggis and apostrophes covered, but where does Mozart come into all this?

In my spare time I play in several jazz bands and music ensembles. So, to wish you a Happy Burns Night, I'll leave you with a wee video clip of Mozart's music – with a Scottish twist, of course. Hope you enjoy it.

Slàinte!

Two Skirts and a Sporran playing McMozart's Eine Kleine Bricht Moonlicht Nicht Musik