Grammar Check anyone please?

[Overseasmom100]

is it

over 17 years teaching experience
over 17 years' teaching experience
over 17 year's teaching experience

Thank you

[BarryWhiteIsMyBrother]

The second one

[Overseasmom100]

Thank you everyone! Opened a right can of worms here!!!

[snowballer]

@JONSAR

Teacher of English here. Definitely number 1. A straight forward plural.

This is so painful I can only assume it's a well-crafted joke. If you genuinely do teach English, learn some basic grammar 🙄

[KaptainKaveman]

It's the second one. As a pp said It's a plural possessive. FGS OP, allow it.

[Anotherdates]

@LittleRa

Pop an “of” in to make it a straight plural:

Over 17 years of teaching experience

This, much better way of expressing it anyway!

[Mummyoflittledragon]

The issue here is probably because experience is an abstract noun. I’m in agreement with the consensus and having taught English as a foreign language and speaking a couple of foreign languages, it is 17 years’ experience. Can’t believe the English teacher got that one wrong and can only concur with the comment from the MFL teacher upthread.

To use Chomalunga’s example:

A girls’ bike (a bike for girls)
The girl’s bike (the bike of the girl)
The girl’s bikes (the bikes of the girl)
The girls’ bikes (the bikes of the girls)

The years of experience = (insert number more than one) years’ experience.

A two second Google brought this as the top result www.writing-skills.com/years-experience-or-years-experience

[ClutchingMyPearlsAppropriately]

I quite understand what @chomalungma is saying while I agree with people saying no 2.

No 2 is correct SPAG-wise but the thing is I see statements like no 1 in official notices all the time and I just take it as the 'of' or the apostrophe is implied.

For some reason, apostrophes seem to be omitted wherever the meaning can still be understood, the same way full stops and commas are. Either that or poor SPAG has taken over some corporate spaces for many years now.

I see it similar to clapping the NHS when it's supposed to be clapping for the NHS. Haven't quite gotten over this one yet.

But yes, OP, you should either write of or years' to be on the safe side.

[AgentProvocateur]

@JONSAR will need a name change, I think. How embarrassing.

Definitely years’. I’m genuinely quite surprised how many people have chosen the wrong option. One year’s experience. 17 years’ experience.

[Sometimesonly]

Grammar teacher and holder of a PhD in linguistics here...

it's definitely "17 yearses of experience"

[chomalungma]

For some reason, apostrophes seem to be omitted wherever the meaning can still be understood, the same way full stops and commas are. Either that or poor SPAG has taken over some corporate spaces for many years now

That's just it. So it's why I can't get too concerned over this example - whereas missing apostrophes in some examples do 'annoy' me.

But not as much as added apostrophes in plurals or when people write 'it's' when they mean 'its'.

Logically it makes no sense for me to get annoyed by that when I don't get annoyed by 'years experience' but there you go.

[Sometimesonly]

As a twin mum, I have lost count of the number of posts that I have clicked on which say something like "my babies development" expecting a discussion on twins (albeit with a missing apostrophe ) and discovering only one baby!

[Sjl479]

If it was one year you would say one year’s experience. Not one year or one years. Do logically it’s 17 years’ experience when years is plural.

[BlackCatShadow]

@Sometimesonly

Grammar teacher and holder of a PhD in linguistics here...

it's definitely "17 yearses of experience"

This thread is so much fun!

[Sometimesonly]

I love them soooo much!

[RandomGrammarPun]

Embarrassed for any fellow English teachers who don't know it's 2.

Yes, the twin Mum above - "my babies nap" when talking about one baby is rife now - what's going on? Of course, there's never an apostrophe, so one can probably guess that they don't mean plural babies, but it's still misleading.

[ceeveebee]

@Sometimesonly

Grammar teacher and holder of a PhD in linguistics here...

it's definitely "17 yearses of experience"

[ClinkyMonkey]

This is EXACTLY when correct grammar matters. I get irritated when I see posters on here being berated for spelling and grammar errors, because this is a discussion forum and, provided the person has managed to make themselves understood, a few mistakes are neither here nor there.

This, however, is a CV or a job application and, as such, should demonstrate correct grammar usage. The OP has done the right thing in checking, but some of the responses .....! Some people claiming to teach English are citing the first option as being correct. Their pupils have no chance, have they?

Worse still, some posters are claiming it doesn't matter. It does matter when the piece of writing is formal/official. There's nothing wrong with not knowing every single rule of grammar, but that's why you should check, which is what the OP has done. Unfortunately she chose Mumsnet and ended up with every option under the sun.

[BarryWhiteIsMyBrother]

Well said. I interview candidates as part of my job. Their job will entail emailing clients so if their CVs or covering letters have typos I bin them straight away.

[chomalungma]

Worse still, some posters are claiming it doesn't matter. It does matter when the piece of writing is formal/officia

Does it though?

We are looking for someone with 6 years experience in 'insert industry'.

We are looking for someone with 6 years' experience in 'insert industry'.

What difference does the apostrophe make to the reader?

Can you give me an example (using the years / years' case) where someone could get confused over the meaning (unlike babies / babies')

[Sometimesonly]

Can you give me an example (using the years / years' case) where someone could get confused over the meaning (unlike babies / babies')

It's not just a case of whether the meaning is clear or not, though. Good grammar is often used as a marker of someone having a good, well-rounded education. You might not agree with that but I would suggest that if you are writing a job application, you would do best to err on the side of caution and double-check everything! As a pp has said, application letters with glaring mistakes often don't even get past the first hurdle and securing a job is difficult enough these days without self- sabotaging because of a belief that grammar is not that important.

[Mummyoflittledragon]

Wow Barry you must attract a wealth of decent CVs. My dh is foreign but he used to eye roll at the grammar of British work colleagues; higher ups included. A decent sized multinational btw.

[chomalungma]

It's not just a case of whether the meaning is clear or not, though. Good grammar is often used as a marker of someone having a good, well-rounded education

So you can't give me an example.

[chomalungma]

As a pp has said, application letters with glaring mistakes often don't even get past the first hurdle and securing a job is difficult enough these days without self- sabotaging because of a belief that grammar is not that important

Do you think this example is a 'glaring' mistake?

[Mummyoflittledragon]

@chomalungma

It's not just a case of whether the meaning is clear or not, though. Good grammar is often used as a marker of someone having a good, well-rounded education

So you can't give me an example.

I did using your example of bikes.

Tell me what I mean by the girls bikes. One girl or more than one girl?

Or the dogs bowls. One dog or more than one dog?

[chomalungma]

I did using your example of bikes

I asked for the years / years' one

I totally get the girls' bike etc.

But can you give me an example where years / years' could cause confusion?