Day 2: Apostrophes

Question

What is the apostrophe doing there? How to use the apostrophe properly?

Prerequisites

What are possessive nouns?

Watch this PowerPoint presentation [1]

Activity 1

Watch this song and notice the use of thr apostrophe

[2]

As you noticed in the song we use the apostrophe with n't which is the shortened form of not

Do you know other shortened forms? Do the following activity File:Using apostrophes contraction (1).pdf

This is one use of the apostrophe.

The apostrophe (') is used in three ways:

To show possession (ownership)
To show plural forms
To show where a letter or number has been omitted

Here is an explanation of the rules for using apostrophes.

Use an apostrophe to show possession.

^With singular nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and s.

Examples: girl, girl's manuscript; student, student's ideas

^With singular nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe and s.

Examples: Charles, Charles's book; hostess, hostess's menu

If the new word is hard to say, leave off the s. For example: James' book, Louis' menu. You won't get arrested by the grammar police for using your brain.

Play this game [3]

^With plural nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe after the s.

Examples: girls, girls' manuscript; students, students' ideas

^With plural nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and s.

Examples: women, women's books; mice, mice's tails

Use an apostrophe and s to show the plural of a letter.

You Could Look It Up

Contractions are two words combined. When you contract words, add an apostrophe in the space where the letters have been taken out. Example: does + not = doesn't Example: Mind your p's and q's.

Use an apostrophe and s to show the plural of a number.

Example: Computers will be even more important in the late 1990's.

Use an apostrophe and s to show the plural of a word referred to as a word.

Example: There are too many distracting like's and um's in her speech.

Use an apostrophe to show where a letter or number has been omitted.

^To show that letters have been left out of contractions.

Examples: can't, won't, I'll

^To show that numbers have been left out of a date.

Examples: the '70s, the '90s

Practice

Are you ready to visit the online lab to practice using the apostrophe? Click on the following link [4]

references:

[ http://www.firstschoolyears.com/ ]

[http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ ]

back to Unit 2: Commas and Apostrophes