{"id":1836,"date":"2020-11-09T17:43:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T16:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.englishforums.com\/blog\/?p=1836"},"modified":"2020-11-09T17:43:05","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T16:43:05","slug":"doctor-appointment-doctors-appointment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/doctor-appointment-doctors-appointment\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor appointment or doctor&#039;s appointment?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We mostly visit the doctor or dentist for a routine check-up or when we get sick. This involves booking an appointment with the doctor. So, how do you write this action in a sentence?<\/span><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;I have a doctor&#8217;s appointment today.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;She has a doctor appointment.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you&#8217;re like the majority of English speakers you&#8217;ll say &#8220;doctor&#8217;s appointment,&#8221; even though nothing is wrong with the less common &#8220;doctor appointment.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>How to use the apostrophe<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most of us use the first example when talking about visiting a doctor. However, this doesn&#8217;t mean the second one is incorrect. Let us discuss the use of the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.englishforums.com\/blog\/apostrophe-what-do-you-know-about-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> apostrophe<\/a> in the first sentence.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Often\u00a0 we use\u00a0 an apostrophe and s (&#8216;s) to carry out some of these functions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The apostrophe may often show possession or ownership.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Example: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My mum&#8217;s email address was blocked.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The apostrophe may also serve as the contracted form of us. An apostrophe replaces words or letters when\u00a0 contracting<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Example:<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Let&#8217;s go make some pancakes. ( Let us go make some pancakes)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216;s\u00a0 functions as the contracted form of is.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Example:<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It&#8217;s going to be well soon. ( It is going to be well soon)<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, when we say doctors appointment, does the appointment belong to the medical doctor? Since it\u00a0 is a noun. it becomes confusing because when you visit the doctor&#8217;s office is it the patient&#8217;s appointment or doctor who you are going to see. Then, why do we say a doctor&#8217;s appointment?\u00a0 The question is how are the words doctor and appointment related in terms of language.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is really easy for people to think that since the doctor is also having an appointment with you, the term doctor&#8217;s appointment is appropriate. However, this is not the case. At first when you look at &#8220;doctor&#8217;s appointment&#8221; you might think it is just another regular possessive marker; this may not always be the instance.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In English, we have something referred to as case. In this instance, this is a genitive case. Let us explore a bit on the cases in language.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Cases in language<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The English language has a few cases, but first, we want to know what a case is.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A case refers to the way nouns, pronouns, participles, adjectives and numerals are put into a category depending on the function they serve in a sentence or a phrase.\u00a0 We will look at how they are often used in English;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Subjective or nominative: This means they function as the subject in a sentence or a clause<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Possessive case:\u00a0 This shows possession and is also sometimes termed as genitive.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Objective case: This one shows the object receiving a certain action in a sentence.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Genitive Case:\u00a0 This one shows ownership. Besides, it shows something or someone is controlling or associated with someone or something else.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dative cases:\u00a0 We use this for the indirect object in the sentence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are only a few of the cases as languages vary. When you say doctor&#8217;s appointment the noun doctor&#8217;s is being used genitively. Let us explore the genitive case:<\/span><br \/>\n<b>Genitive case<\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In modern\u00a0 English, it is common for the genitive case to be like the possessive case. During the 18th Century, a very influential master of grammar, Bishop Lowth, thought the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.englishforums.com\/blog\/possessive-nouns-worksheet-whats-new\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">possessive case<\/a> would\u00a0 sound a little much better. A lot of confusion comes when you check on the\u00a0 meaning of the word possess, it only means ownership.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But when we look at the genitive case apart from ownership, it also shows control, association, the date or time, the source, the type, a part of something, an amount or even a duration.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nouns that have been linked by the genitive case may not be related to each other through possession. Here are some examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even as the dog&#8217;s bark was heard across the estate no one could find where it was.: &#8211; <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here it is not about the bark belonging to the dog but as much as it comes from the dog<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I would never miss my dentist&#8217;s appointment, though I might ask him to reschedule.: &#8211; <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this case<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it is my appointment, it doesn&#8217;t belong to the dentist. It describes the type of appointment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The teacher had to check whether the\u00a0 girl&#8217;s story was true, though it was very interesting: &#8211; <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This gives the information that the source of the story is the girl and not the strict possessiveness of the story.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yesterday&#8217;s windy weather ruined all his crops, although it has never happened again: &#8211; <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This shows the date when the weather was windy<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The women&#8217;s football team did not take the results well\u00a0 this time: &#8211; Here, it<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> indicates that the football team is made up of women; hence showing the type<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I will share the book&#8217;s new cover template\u00a0 via email by the time he is back: &#8211; <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The book&#8217;s cover is genitively used to show part of the book<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She didn&#8217;t know it was only like three cups&#8217; worth.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It would take you ten years&#8217; experience and a lot of help to get a new good job<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The seventh and eighth examples show amount and duration respectively. Note in the last two the apostrophe comes after the &#8216;s&#8217;.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In all the above cases the apostrophe and s (&#8216;s) indicates association and is used genitively. This can make sense when we apply it to the doctor&#8217;s appointment. The noun doctor is being used in the genitive case to showcase the type of appointment. Hence, it is a type of genitive case known as the descriptive genitive. It is important to note that although it is descriptive it can never be termed as an adjective or a pronoun.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to doctor appointment the noun doctor is used to attribute another noun ( it is being used as an adjective). Doctor appointment is also correct since doctor is an attributive noun. Therefore, both doctor&#8217;s appointment and doctor appointment share meaning for they pass the information that you have a visit to the doctor at a specific time.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Which is correct, doctor&#8217;s or doctors?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most people seem a little stumped by this, but it is not new.\u00a0 The most noticeable difference between the two forms of the noun\u00a0 is,\u00a0 doctor&#8217;s shows possession while the later indicates the plural for the noun doctor. The use of these two words all comes down to the context as we can see below.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The plural context<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most common way English words get their plural is by adding an &#8216;s&#8217; to the word.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doctor &#8211; doctors<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dentist &#8211; dentists<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chair &#8211; Chairs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whenever you are referring more than one doctor, the best to use is doctors but it is inappropriate to use it when referring attributes like possession or the genitive case.\u00a0 Look at the following instances:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The doctors office is like a fortress.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These doctors\u00a0 are good they like to help whenever they can.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the first statement, it is supposed to show the office belongs to the doctor but this is not the right way to show it. The second illustration is the right way to use doctors since it is showing that there are more than one doctor who like to help.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The possessive and genitive context<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have already covered how to show possession, by adding an apostrophe with an s (&#8216;s). We also have in mind that apart from forming possessive words, it can also be used in the genitive case. Whether it is in possessive or in the genitive case, this depends on the context. Examine the following statements:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I recommend a doctor&#8217;s appointment. you will thank me later.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I recommend you subscribe to a regular doctors appointment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this context, the first statement genitively describes what type of appointment. The second statement is wrong and doesn&#8217;t show any possession or case.<\/span><br \/>\n<b>How do you abbreviate titles?<\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An abbreviation is a shortened configuration of a word or a phrase. Never confuse acronyms with abbreviations for they are different. Here are some titles abbreviated when affixed to names.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doctor &#8211; Dr.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mister &#8211; Mr.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stock keeping unit\u00a0 &#8211; SKU<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doctor of Philosophy &#8211; PhD<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Always use the correct rules for abbreviating. The word doctor&#8217;s appointment is made up of two words: doctor and appointment. Both of these words have different abbreviations, &#8220;Dr.&#8221; for doctor and and &#8220;appt&#8221; for appointment.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When there is need to abbreviate doctor, note that it should always be followed by the name of a person who is actually a medical , social or scientific doctor. For instance, we say &#8220;Dr. R . J Lupin. Having this in mind, we don&#8217;t say\u00a0 Dr&#8217;s appointment since the abbreviation &#8220;Dr&#8221; should be followed by the name of a person.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is not common to find the abbreviation of appointment being used. However, do not confuse it with &#8220;apt&#8221;, which is the abbreviation for apartment. When referring to a doctor&#8217;s appointment we can say &#8220;doctor&#8217;s appt&#8221;.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although there is no clear instruction about using words in sequence which are both abbreviations, we can use abbreviations informally as long as we are not misunderstood.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please subscribe to a regular dr&#8217;s appt.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What&#8217;s your dr&#8217;s appointment?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She has to book for a doctor&#8217;s\u00a0 appt.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What does a routine appointment at the doctors mean?<\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appointment is an agreement of meeting someone at an agreed time and place. A doctor&#8217;s appointment is a particular time the patient has set to get to see a medical doctor. This can be done through an email or online by booking a time prior in order to get the first slot available.\u00a0 A routine is a succession of activities that are consistently followed.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Routine appointments, especially to a\u00a0 family doctor, is when you visit the doctor at set intervals. In some instances, you subscribe to a routine checkup to see the doctor via email. You also receive the appointment approval in your email.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I book my routine appointment at the doctor&#8217;s using my email address.<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask him if he has made a routine appointment at the doctor&#8217;s.<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I need to subscribe to a routine appointment to see the dentist.<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We mostly visit the doctor or dentist for a routine check-up or when we get sick. This involves booking an appointment with the doctor. So, &#8230; <a title=\"Doctor appointment or doctor&#039;s appointment?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/doctor-appointment-doctors-appointment\/\" aria-label=\"More on Doctor appointment or doctor&#039;s appointment?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_generate-full-width-content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[292],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1836"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}