Mar
21
2007
I’m Moving to Arkansas, the State That Knows Its Possessives
Posted by: Lisa in Writing/Editing Tips: Nuts and BoltsFinally, a state legislature that cares about proper punctuation:
See what I mean in this New York Times article.
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March 22nd, 2007 at 8:20 am
It’s predawn here in San Diego and already my day is shot. I am going to spend the rest of the day trying to figure out how to pronounce Arkansas as its 1881 decree intended.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:04 am
I changed my mind: I’m not moving to Arkansas; I’m moving to San Diego. But I still appreciate the Arkansas state legislature.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:42 pm
You can stay in my guest room. I know you have no idea how sweet that offer is. But I promise you, it’s sweet.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:21 pm
I get around the whole Arkansas-possessive thing by never really thinking about Arkansas and occasionally forgetting about it altogether.
When I do say the name I pronounce it like my dad does: “Our-Kansas.” He’s from Kansas and has some long story about why that is significant or how it came to be. I can’t remember the story but I like saying it that way. I suspect the rules of grammar don’t account for my family’s mangled interpretations, though, so I have no idea how the possessives would work out for Our-Kansas.