Apostrophes & Quotation Marks

1. Apostrophes & Quotation Marks The Brenham Writing Room Created by D. Herring

2. Why Punctuate? • Punctuation is used to clarify meaning. • It is important to know how to properly use various punctuation marks, such as commas, semicolons, colons, apostrophes, quotation marks, parenthesis, dashes, & hyphens.

3. Apostrophes • An apostrophe is primarily used to • Show ownership • Sally’s car • The dog’s bone • Indicate that something has been intentionally left out. • Don’t (contraction of do not) • Class of ’05 (20 in 2005 is left out)

4. Apostrophes continued • When using an apostrophe to show ownership • Add ‘s to a singular noun to show ownership even if the noun already ends in s. • Charles’s book • If a noun is plural and ends in s, just add an apostrophe. • Students’ exam scores • If the noun is plural but does not end in s, add ‘s. • Men’s lockers

5. Apostrophes continued • In a contraction, put an apostrophe where the letter or letters have been left out. • Please don’t be mad at me, but I can’t go with you. • She’ll go with you instead, and you’ll both have lots of fun. • See list on pg. 491 of common contractions

6. Apostrophes continued • You may occasionally use apostrophes with letters, numbers, and time. • Use ‘s to make letters & numbers plural. • She made all A’s and B’s. • How many 0’s do you have in this class? • Use ‘ or ‘s where time nouns are treated as if they possess. • I have four weeks’ vacation coming to me. • This year’s graduating class is huge.

7. Important Reminders • Do not use an apostrophe to form the plural of a noun. • Incorrect: How many dog’s do you have? • Correct: My dog’s ears hang to the ground. • Do not use an apostrophe with a possessive pronoun. • I: The book is her’s. • C: The book is hers. • I: The baby tiger cuddled next to it’s mother. • C: The baby tiger cuddled next to its mother.

8. “Quotation Marks” • Quotation marks always appear in pairs! • Two common uses of quotation marks: • In quotations • In titles

9. Quotation Marks continued • A quotation is the report of a person’s words. • A direct quotation indicates exact words. • Sally said, “Help me pick up these papers, please.” • An indirect quotation indicates a restatement of words. • Sally asked me to please help her pick up her papers. • Use quotation marks only for a direct quote, not an indirect quote.

10. Punctuation with Quotes • When using punctuation with quotes, remember to use the following rules: • Place a comma after a phrase introducing a quotation: • The child screamed, “I don’t want a shot.” • When a quote is interrupted, do the following: • “I didn’t pass,” explained the student, “because I didn’t study.”

11. Punctuation with Quotes • When a phrase comes after the quote, end the quote with a comma: • “I wish it were Friday,” she said. • If a quotation ends with other punctuation, put it before the final quotation mark: • “What are you serving for dinner?” he asked.

12. Single Quotation Marks • Use single quotation marks when one quotation is inside another: • The tutor told the professor, “Many of your students have told me ‘ my teacher grades too hard.’”

13. Titles • Titles of magazine or newspaper articles, book chapters, short stories, essays, songs, and poems are put in quotation marks. • Other titles (e.g., books, magazines or newspapers) are underlined or put in italics. • Do not put your own paragraph or essay title in quotes!