January's schedule vs. January schedule

Question

Is it January's schedule or January schedule?

I also get confused with whether to include an apostrophe before "bill."

This is my January bill or January's bill.

Google shows error and recommends using 'January schedule' instead of 'January's schedule'. — Dhanishtha Ghosh, Jan 10 '21 at 19:02
Related: “the police conspiracy” vs. “the police's conspiracy” — ColleenV, Jan 10 '21 at 19:57
@DhanishthaGhosh And Google's Ngram Viewer finds no results for "January's schedule", but many results for "January schedule". Grammar checkers are notoriously inaccurate because what is correct in a particular instance is very dependent on the context. It's much more complex than "January's X" is always preferred over "January X". — ColleenV, Jan 10 '21 at 20:04
True. I looked in the Google Ngram for finding relevant results. When I found none, I thought of not linking it, since it will be pretty useless. — Dhanishtha Ghosh, Jan 10 '21 at 20:09
@DhanishthaGhosh My point is that Google saying it is an error is just as useless. — ColleenV, Jan 11 '21 at 17:29
Agreed! Always not so reliable. But not an issue. I got to know the correct use. — Dhanishtha Ghosh, Jan 11 '21 at 17:31

Ronald Sole · Accepted Answer · 2021-01-10T19:21:20.860

Both are correct and idiomatic.

Your choice depends on the construction:

January's schedule is likely to be busy.

Here January is used with a possessive apostrophe, as in winter's cold.

or

The January schedule this year is likely to be busy.

Here January is used as an attributive or adjectival noun to modify schedule, as in winter clothing or history lesson.

Which you prefer to use just depends on the context and your preferences.

1 Answers1