Hello again, mathom!
There is a growing trend toward omitting apostrophes; the advice I am
offering below reflects a conservative view of the matter. You'll
often see apostrophes omitted in printed sources, sometimes even in
formal documents. Those of us who are secret members of The Grammar
Police are, I fear, fighting a losing battle to preserve the
apostrophe.
Your first instinct, "Directors'", is definitely the best choice here.
If there were only one Director, "Director's" would be correct.
"Directors" is not a possessive noun, and the meaning of the sentence
calls for a possessive noun.
If you are uncomfortable with the sentence no matter where you place
the apostrophe, you could eliminate the need for an apostrophe
altogether by rewording the sentence: "The meeting of the Medical
Directors will be held on Christmas Day, 2005."
I've gathered a few references that I hope will be of use.
"Rules for Possessive Apostrophes
1. Is the word to which s has been added either a noun or an indefinite pronoun?
2. Is the word possessive?
3. Do I need an apostrophe?
Rules for Determining Whether Nouns/Pronouns Are Possessive
Indefinite Pronouns: Since we never form the plural of these words,
the only reason we would ever add an s to these words would be to make
them possessive. Thus, you will always need an apostrophe before the
s when you add an s to words like everyone or nobody.
Can you believe everyone?s shirt was blue?
Nouns: Watch for two nouns together. Check the first to see if it is
possessive by substituting a possessive pronoun for it.
The victims? families suffered greatly.
Their families suffered greatly."
Georgia Southern University: The Possessive Noun
http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writingc/handouts/possessivenoun.htm
"You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does not end
in 's' by adding an apostrophe and a 's,' as in the following
examples:
The children's mittens were scattered on the floor of the porch.
The sheep's pen was mucked out every day.
Since we have a complex appeal process, a jury's verdict is not always final...
You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does end in 's'
by adding an apostrophe:
The concert was interrupted by the dogs' barking, the ducks' quacking,
and the babies' squalling.
The janitors' room is downstairs and to the left.
My uncle spent many hours trying to locate the squirrels' nest.
The archivist quickly finished repairing the diaries' bindings.
Religion is usually the subject of the roommates' many late night debates."
University of Ottawa: What Is A Noun?
http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/nouns.html
My Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: apostrophe "possessive noun"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=apostrophe+%22possessive+noun%22
I hope this is helpful! Please request clarification if it is needed.
Very best regards,
pinkfreud |
