Apostrophes punctuation rules grammar and punctuation. The apostrophe has been partnered up with the letter s in a few different roles over the last 500 years, and as with many relationships the goalposts have shifted a little over time if the apostrophe appears before the letter s then it may denote that. A phenomenon named grammar girl outlines 9 ways to use an apostrophe but left me. Now, there are some simple rules about how to use the apostrophe s. So lets talk about apostrophes, now apostrophes are one of the simplest punctuation marks but i think one of the trickiest to use.
To form the possessive of a singular noun that does end in s or an s sound, add an. Aug 24, 2016 my friend, casey valiant of signarama evansville, challenged me to write this blog post three years after he challenged me to write a post, five things miley cyrus tongue can teach us about business, so i came up with my eight simple rules for using apostrophes. In the absence of globally accepted rules that govern when apostrophes should be. A contraction is a shortened form of a word or group of words that omits certain letters or sounds. Examples include one with a singular noun ending in s venuss beauty. Grammar and vocab challenge learn while challenging others get listed on the leaderboard get ebooksmobile apps. In the meantime, here are the rules for using apostrophes. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing book. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards. We use apostrophes to write about oprahs new recommendation, j. If the phrase refers to a group of girls who purchased some books, then the books are the girls books by rule a because they own the books. For each of the following, choose the correct sentence. Having fun with learning language posted by vicki jun 4, 2018 book lists, books, educational products, learning, reading english can be a difficult language to learn.
Possession johns car, a friend of mine english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. Apostrophe rules can be broken into four main categories. With singular nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and s. Years ago, this used to be a style choice, and it was quite common for style guides to recommend using an apostrophe to make abbreviations plural, but as time went on, more and more style guides stopped recommending the apostrophe.
Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. She may have purchased it herself or received it as a gift, but it. English grammar apostrophes proper apostrophe usage 1. When these are made plural the choice of s or a simple apostrophe is optional.
Apostrophe rules english grammar lesson to improve writings skills punctuation marks using apostrophes could be confusing for native and non native speakers and people make some common grammar mistakes while using an apostrophe in written english, such as emails. Apostrophes are one of the more confounding punctuation marks. The best punctuation book, period by june casagrande. With the addition of s or sometimes just the apostrophe, a noun can change from a simple person, place, or thing to a person, place, or thing that owns something. Aug 08, 2019 mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. A phenomenon named grammar girl outlines 9 ways to use an apostrophe but left me unclear whether its a girls school or girls school. Rules for the formation of the possessive s apostrophe s and s s apostrophe are as follows.
Girls locker room or girls locker room a locker room for a class or group of girls 2. Apr 12, 2012 the rule 2 of apostrophes referenced in our response of december 18, 2012, to maddie was part of the 10th edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Learn english with lets talk free english lessons 70,293 views 11. The punctuation symbol can also be used to show the possessive form of a noun possessive apostrophe, i. A 1772 edition of joseph priestleys the rudiments of english grammar, for example, says the possessive is formed by adding s with an apostrophe before it to a singular noun. The rule 2 of apostrophes referenced in our response of december 18, 2012, to maddie was part of the 10th edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation. In any case, the notion that words ending in s or an s sound should not have an. With singular nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe and s. Johns books, in addition to indicating the plural form of lowercase letters. Nov 04, 2010 the punctuation mark is called apostrophe. Nov 01, 2006 my head is spinning trying to remember and apply all the apostrophe rules that i learned 30 years ago. I went to the editorinchief house for dinner last night. In the following phrases, the apostrophes have been deliberately omitted.
Apostrophe rules english grammar lesson to improve. To show possession by one person, use an apostrophe and add an s. Im even more unclear when the first person is involved. Please let me know what is correct for each of the following. The apostrophe is mainly used to indicate possession.
I went to the editorinchiefs house for dinner last night. If you force yourself to believe this, it will make you think twice before using or omitting an apostropheand before you know it, these simple rules will become engrained in your puppysaving soul. Showing possession through nouns easy learning grammar possession can be shown in two ways. Apostrophe s rules as possessive s and as contracted ishas exercise decide what it stands for.
The adelaide phone book has a list headed schoolsgirls. Thanks to library lady jane for all her help in writing these grammar guides over the years. The second reason to use an apostrophe is to show possession. In this english grammar usage lesson with ceema learn some basic grammar rules. The english apostrophe s and s apostrophe cause a lot of problems, even for native speakers. An apostrophe is used to show that certain letters have been omitted from a word contractions, i. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. If a person becomes a passive viewer, this is the individuals fault rather than the tv programs. Apostrophe rules english grammar lesson to improve writings. To determine where the apostrophe should go, the question to ask yourself is.
The rule is if multiple people share something, you use one apostrophes. The apostrophe has been partnered up with the letter s in a few different roles over the last 500 years, and as with many relationships the goalposts have shifted a little over time. Punctuation is not grammar and doesnt follow grammatical rules. If you would like a regular serving of grammarrelated awesomeness every day, go follow her on twitter. Richard nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and english at georgia southern university and the author of several universitylevel grammar and composition textbooks. If a word is both plural and possessed, it gets an s followed by an apostrophe. To form the possessive of a singular noun that does not end in s or an s sound, add an apostrophe plus s to the noun.
Apostrophes quiz 1 the blue book of grammar and punctuation. If the phrase refers to books as a genre, written or intended for girls, the books would be girls books no apostrophe by rule e. First, a plural noun which already ends in s takes only a following apostrophe. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. An apostrophe is a mark of punctuation used to identify a noun in the possessive case or indicate the omission of one or more letters from a word. Using apostrophes could be confusing for native and non native speakers and people make some common grammar mistakes while using an apostrophe in written english, such as emails. It is used to show when one noun possesses another noun. Write the correct form of the words in the boxes below. The simplest and most likely solution is to omit all apostrophes which dont convey any information, or questions like this wouldnt be asked and rely on syntax to distinguish the girls teams, and the boys teams, from the girls and boys team.
The most common contractions are made up of verbs, auxiliaries, or modals attached to other words. Pauls, julies, mikes, and susans are all possessive nouns. However, i am curious if the rules are slightly different when possessive pronouns are used for a single item. Apostrophes punctuation rules the blue book of grammar.
Some writers and editors add only an apostrophe to all nouns ending in s. Exercises to improve your english writing skills whether youre a native speaker of english or an advanced esl student, these exercises will help you identify and. Contractions are common in speaking and in informal writing. Its arbitrary, and especially in the case of apostrophes, chaotic. If there are more than one errors, separate corrected words with a space and a hyphen as in the examples. To use an apostrophe to create a contraction, place an apostrophe where the omitted letters would go. Here are some of the most common ways to use apostrophesand some interesting rare cases.
Other dormitorywithgirls movies are girls dormitory 1936 and bad girls dormitory 1985 the latter without the apostrophe but both without werewolves. When we have a singular noun, we just add an apostrophe s like we have already seen. There are a few different ways to form the possessive of a noun. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by mignon. The elements of style, fourth edition by william strunk jr. Mar 16, 2008 here are some grammar rules from our proofreaders. Mignon fogarty, author of grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing invaluable reference work for professional proofreaders, editors, and writers because it is the only book that presents chicago, ap, apa, and mla conventions side by side. Dec 08, 2011 a 1772 edition of joseph priestleys the rudiments of english grammar, for example, says the possessive is formed by adding s with an apostrophe before it to a singular noun. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller. To show plural possession, make the noun plural first. In a contraction, an apostrophe represents missing letters.
A contraction is a word or set of numbers in which one or more letters or numbers have been omitted. Apostrophe rules english grammar lesson to improve writings skills punctuation. To show possession with a singular noun, add an apostrophe plus the letter s. For example, the aardvarks pencil, where there is an apostrophes at the end of aardvark. With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make nouns plural. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language. If there are many the word is plural, then just an s will do. Apr 16, 2019 an apostrophe is used to show that certain letters have been omitted from a word contractions, i. Sometimes, its called the grocers apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements 3 oranges for a dollar. Many common nouns end in the letter s lens, cactus, bus, etc. Rules for the formation of the possessive s apostrophe s. In 2014 we issued the 11th edition of the blue book in which we expanded the discussion of the accepted methods for dealing with possession. Sometimes to indicate the structure of unusual words. This lessons task is to help you learn about possessives and contractions that need apostrophes and plurals that dont.
Dec 29, 2016 mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. However, they arent difficult to master, if you know a few apostrophe rules. Nov 07, 2016 apostrophe rules english grammar lesson to improve writings skills punctuation marks duration. Learn english with lets talk free english lessons 75,905 views 11. Whom or what does the soandso belong to or refer to. Compound possession grammar girl quick and dirty tips. This is usually shown by adding an apostrophe and then an s at the end of the word. So lets talk about the three basic rules here, you use apostrophes first and probably most often to form possessive noun, so if ive got the.
Apostrophe rules english grammar lesson to improve writings skills punctuation marks duration. One major new use for the apostrophe was to indicate possession. The simplest and most likely solution is to omit all apostrophes which dont convey any information, or questions like this wouldnt be asked and rely on syntax to distinguish the girls teams, and the boys teams. I want to avoid having incorrect signage installed, especially in a school. Read on to discover all the apostrophe rules youll ever need to know. So if steve and amy have the same religious beliefs, it is. Fogarty not only offers the grammar rules, but clear and sticky examples that should help anyone. My head is spinning trying to remember and apply all the apostrophe rules that i learned 30 years ago.
Showing possession through nouns easy learning grammar. Possession johns car, a friend of mine english grammar. Inspired designs on tshirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. Girls, girls or girls apostrophes and girls investigator magazine. This is one of the areas where a great many people seem to slip up grammatically and where another great horde of people become very irate. All you have to do is remember that if theres ownership or possession, then the word should take apostrophe s. When you consider apostrophes, the first word that probably comes to mind is possessive because our gradeschool teachers taught us that apostrophes make things possessivemore specifically, apostrophes make nouns possessive.
If the apostrophe appears before the letter s then it may denote that the possessive case is singular, i. Apostrophes and plurals grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Most genitives are formed with s the term genitive includes a larger range of relationships than possessiveownership my dog, temporary possession his cookie, a natural trait his tail, a family relationship his mom, origin his city, performer of an action his arrival, and more. Eight simple rules for using apostrophes pro blog service.
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