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Using Apostrophes. Why are apostrophes important? Possessive case Singular nouns and plural nouns Possessive personal pronouns Indefinite pronouns Special problems with possessives Contractions Plurals Review A Review B. Why are apostrophes important?.
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Using Apostrophes Why are apostrophes important? Possessive case Singular nouns and plural nouns Possessive personal pronouns Indefinite pronouns Special problems with possessives Contractions Plurals Review A Review B
Why are apostrophes important? The apostrophe has several jobs to do. The main job of the apostrophe is to show ownership, or possession. Are these Sondra’s socks?
Why are apostrophes important? The apostrophe also shows where something is missing in a contraction. wehave we’ve Sometimes, in special situations, the apostrophe is used to form plurals. Your 1’s look like l’s.
Why are apostrophes important? A missing apostrophe can cause confusion. Are those as or is? Are those a’s or i’s? An unnecessary apostrophe is also confusing. It’s speed is impressive. The computer’s are fast. Knowing where to place an apostrophe—and why—will help make your writing clearer. [End of Section]
Possessive caseSingular nouns and plural nouns Singular nouns Add an apostrophe and an s to form the possessive case of most singular nouns. a good night’s sleep a good night of sleep the duck’s beak the beak of the duck Sam’s little brother the little brother of Sam
Possessive caseSingular nouns and plural nouns Plural nouns If a plural noun ends in s, just add an apostrophe. the ducks’ beaks the Garzas’ car
Possessive caseSingular nouns and plural nouns Plural nouns Some irregular plural nouns do not end in s. Add an apostrophe and an s to form the possessive case. Singular Plural Example Plural Possessive child children children’s children’s playground men’s man men men’s store
Possessive caseSingular nouns and plural nouns Proper names If a proper name ends in s, add only an apostrophe if adding another s would make the name awkward to pronounce. Ms. Rawlings’ class Ulysses’ voyage
Possessive casePossessive personal pronouns A possessive personal pronounnever has an apostrophe—even when the pronoun ends in s. I forgot where my locker is. Mine is in the next hall. Itsnumber is 302. Where is your locker?
Possessive casePossessive personal pronouns Most possessive personal pronouns have two forms. Where is your lunch? Did you forget yours? These forms are used before nouns. These forms stand alone. Do not put an apostrophe in any of these pronouns.
Possessive case On Your Own For each sentence, write the possessive case of the word in parentheses. 1. All the ___________ cages should be cleaned. (hamsters) 2. Are these car keys _________? (you) 3. The _________ crew wore uniforms. (ship) 4. _______________ class is on a field trip. (Mr. Clements) 5. The _________ voices sounded far away. (men)
Possessive caseIndefinite pronouns In the possessive case, indefinite pronouns need an apostrophe and an s. The teacher asked for everybody’s essay. No one’s essay has been graded.
Possessive caseSpecial problems with possessives Compound nouns In compound nouns, only the last word is possessive in form. the Gulf of Mexico’s currents my brother-in-law’s job the vice-president’s visit
Possessive caseSpecial problems with possessives Joint possession When two or more nouns share possession, only the last noun is possessive in form. Stephanie, Darla, and Jacob’sproject Three students are working on one project.
Possessive caseSpecial problems with possessives Joint possession When one of the words showing joint possession is a pronoun, both words should be in the possessive form. Her and Wanda’sproject Two students are working on one project.
Possessive caseSpecial problems with possessives Two or more persons possessing something individually When two or more persons each possess something, each of their names should be in the possessive form. Brent’s and Mia’sprojects Each student has his or her own project. The noun projects is plural.
Possessive caseSpecial problems with possessives When talking about things owned by two or more people, be sure to check your apostrophes when you change a noun to a pronoun. John and Jenny’s dog Two people own one dog together. John’s and her dog John’s and Jenny’s dogs Two people each own dogs. John’s and her dogs
Possessive case On Your Own For each sentence, write the possessive case of the word in parentheses. 1. Keeping the laboratory clean is _____________ responsibility. (everyone) 2. We will meet at ___________________ house tomorrow after school. (Michael and Junior) 3. Do you know what ______________________ mascot is? (Robstown High School) 4. I think ____________________ stories were the most interesting. (Stella and Stanley) [End of Section]
Contractions An apostrophe shows where letters, words, or numerals have been omitted from a contraction. should not shouldn’t we have we’ve of the clock o’clock 1998 ’98 it is ’tis
Contractions Usually, when the word not is shortened to n’t and added to a verb, the spelling of the verb doesn’t change. would not wouldn’t have not haven’t The two exceptions to this rule are will not won’t cannot can’t [End of Section]
Plurals In most cases, do not use an apostrophe to form the plural of a noun. house houses dress dresses To prevent confusion, a few kinds of nouns do form plurals by adding an apostrophe and an s. • lowercase letters p’s and q’s x’s • certain capital letters A’s I’s U’s I wish I had gotten A’s on my report card, but I got C’s.
Plurals Also use an apostrophe to form the plural of • symbols @’s #’s *’s • numerals 1’s 2’s 3’s • some words that are referred to as words Replace all the and’s with or’s.
Contractions and plurals On Your Own • Add apostrophes where needed in the following sentences. If the sentence is already correct, write C. • 1. She didnt want to go to the movie with us. • 2. There are more than two ss in that word. • 3. I think thats a great idea! • 4. Don’t forget to cross your t’s. • Shell have to catch up with us later. [End of Section]
Review A In the following sentences, circle any words that need apostrophes or have incorrect apostrophes. 1. Didnt you find someones’ wallet in the hallway yesterday? 2. One of that cars’ tires is low, but its not flat yet. 3. We’re leaving at nine o-clock in Mikes car. 4. Fran’s and Steven’s older brother came in first. 5. The Garzas front door was just painted. [End of Section]
Review B • Add apostrophes as needed in the following sentences. • Ive forgotten my book; may I use yours? • Ours is the second house, the one with the childrens toys in the front yard. • Mr. Spears classroom is not being used this period. • Tonys bicycle wont be ready until two o clock. • The actors costumes were difficult to sew. [End of Section]