Page:A Desk-Book of Errors in English.djvu/185

Rh polity and policy both come from the Latin politica, (Gr. politeia, polity, polis, city); but they must not be confounded. "Polity is the permanent system of government of a state, a church, or a society; policy is the method of management with reference to the attainment of certain ends. The national polity of the United States is republican; each administration has a policy of its own."

pore: Compare.

possessive case, the: A very unnecessary difficulty appears to be felt, even by educated men, in the use of the apostrophe in the possessive case. It is placed immediately after the noun under consideration. If, for instance, you are talking of a lady and refer to her glove, you say "the lady's glove"—then the apostrophe, should immediately follow the noun in question; viz., lady, in the singular. If, however, there are two ladies or more, you say "the ladies&#39; gloves," and the apostrophe should follow ladies; that is, lady, in the plural. In like manner, you write "the boy's father," or "the boys&#39; father," when referring to one or to two or more boys, respectively. "The man's hat," "the men's hats," with the apostrophe following the noun man or men, will note the possessive in the singular and plural for the noun man.

The nearest approach to a difficulty is where a plural ends with an "s" or a sibilant sound; but here the rule is still the same—place the apostrophe after