Because Tom Brady has been in the news so often lately, I thought it might be fun (and useful!) to look back at a 2017 police report involving one of his jerseys.

Back then, Brady was quarterback for the New England Patriots. After the Super Bowl, he realized that his game jersey was missing from his locker in the NRG Stadium in Houston. The theft made news because Brady told police that the jersey was worth half a million dollars. (You can download the police report here: https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/brady-jersey-stolen-1487693415.pdf)

What interests us today, however, are the apostrophes. Here’s the summary from the police report:

On 2/05/17, the City of Houston hosted Super Bowl LI In the NRG Stadium. Shortly after winning the game, New England Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady noticed his game jersey missing from his locker in the Patriot’s designated locker room.

Would you say that Brady was the Patriot’s quarterback – or the Patriots‘ quarterback? The answer is easy if you ask yourself whether you’re talking about the Patriots – or the Patriot.

The team is the Patriots, right? (Not the Patriot!) So it’s the Patriots’ quarterback and the Patriots’ designated locker room. The apostrophes in the report need to be corrected:

Shortly after winning the game, New England Patriots‘ quarterback Tom Brady noticed his game jersey missing from his locker in the Patriots‘ designated locker room.

Although apostrophes befuddle many writers, they’re not difficult at all. Just write the word or name, and put an apostrophe after the last letter.

Tom Brady is the quarterback of the Patriots.

Patriots

Patriots’

the Patriots’ quarterback

Let’s try another one: the victory of Tom Brady.

Tom Brady

Brady’s

Tom Brady’s victory

Here’s one more: Cyrus Jones is the cornerback for the Patriots. Let’s try the jersey of Cyrus Jones.

Cyrus Jones

Cyrus Jones’

Cyrus Jones’ jersey OR Cyrus Jones‘s jersey

Looking for the last letter of the word or name will help you place the apostrophe correctly every time.

For more practice with apostrophes, click here.

                                                  Courtesy of Mike Lizzi