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Apostrophe

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160 views

Apostrophe

In this document you will find some good material regarding to this topic hope this will help you in your studies..

Uploaded by

saddam3faiz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Apostrophes:

Apostrophes have three uses in English

 They are used to indicate possession, whether literal or figurative.


 They are used to form contractions.
 With letters and numbers

POSSESSIVE APOSTROPHES:
show ownership of something and are used in conjunction with the

letters. For example,

John's toy shows that John has a toy.

You can perform a simple test to determine the location of a possessive apostrophe by rephrasing with

have or has.

Singular nouns usually take an apostrophe and s.

 my grandmother’s house
 The student’s book.

If a singular noun ends with an s or z sound, you may just add an apostrophe or an apostrophe

and s. Choose the one that sounds better to your ear

 Thomas’ book or Thomas’s book


 In both cases the book belongs to Thomas

If a plural noun does not end in s, add an apostrophe and s.

 he team’s bus
 Bacteria's invasion
 Cacti's protection
 Children's toys
 Criteria's timeline
 Die's roll

Shared possessives

(possession is shared by more than one noun) take an apostrophe and s on the last noun only, unless
the

nouns do not share equally.

Ted and Fred’s restaurant (The restaurant belongs to Ted and Fred.)

Compound noun possessives


take an apostrophe on the last word in the compound noun.
my brother-in-law’s boat the high school’s gym

CO NTRACTION APOSTROPHES
To Show Contraction When you join two words together, use an apostrophe to show

where the letter(s) have been removed *Contractions should not be used in formal writing.

 Does not-doesn't
 It is/has-It's
 Could have-could've
 Do not = don't
 Are not = aren't

(some letters in one or both of the words being combined).(Do not use contractions in formal papers)

 do not becomes don't


 I would becomes I'd
 would have becomes would've
 will becomes I'll

Make sure the apostrophe is placed where the letter (s) have been omitted and not between the two
words. For example, in the contraction of does and not, the apostrophe replaces the o in not doesn't.

BE CAREFUL! Some words that are contractions sound exactly like words that are not.

For example,

the words it's (from it is) and its (the possessive form of it), along with you're (from You are) and
Your(the possessive form of you)

frequently cause problems. If it makes sense as two words, then it's

With letters and numbers


An apostrophe is used in front of two figures referring to a year or decade.

French students rioted in'68 [short for'1968'] ·

He worked as a schoolteacher during the'60s and early'90s.

An apostrophe can be used in plurals of letters and numbers to make them more

Mind your p's and q's,

His 2's look a bit like, 7's.

the got straight · A's in her exams.


Apostrophes. Activity Task)
For each of the following, choose the correct sentence.

A) Her husbands wallet was full of curious items.

B) Her husband’s wallet was full of curious items.

C) Her husbands’ wallet was full of curious items.

2)

A) I went to the editor-in-chief house for dinner last night.

B) I went to the editor-in-chief’s house for dinner last night.

C) I went to the editor-in-chiefs’ house for dinner last night.

3)

A) You may not enter Mr. Harris’s office without his permission.

B) You may not enter Mr. Harris office without his permission.

C) You may not enter Mr. Harrises office without his permission.

D) You may not enter Mr. Harrises’ office without his permission.

4)

A) What are your childrens names?

B) What are your children’s names?

C) What are your childrens’ names?

5)

A) The women’s dresses are on the second floor.

B) The womans’ dresses are on the second floor.

C) The womens’ dresses are on the second floor.


Correct answers
1) B Her husband’s wallet was full of curious items.

2) B I went to the editor-in-chief’s house for dinner last night.

3) A You may not enter Mr. Harris’s office without his permission.

4) B What are your children’s names?

5) A The women’s dresses are on the second floor.

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