Apostrophes, Quotation Marks,

and Ellipsis

Amy Morton, Jessica Jablonski, Caitlyn Caldwell

The Apostrophe• Used to illustrate possession

of singular and plural nouns• Used to illustrate omissions

of single letters

Example: The mouse’s acceptance of the cookie led to a slippery slope of cause and effect. The little girl shouldn’t have been so nice.

Common Misuses• When plural nouns are not possessive• In possessive pronouns• When forming plurals of numbers, letters,

abbreviations, and words mentioned as words

Example: Some cat’s cats like to have sprinkles with their cupcakes. Its It’s really a delicious combination.

The Ellipsis• Consists of three spaced dots• Used to indicate an omission of words from a direct quote• Add a fourth dot when omitting a complete sentence• Add a full line of dots when omitting a complete line of

poetry• May also be used to indicate a hesitation in speech or to

suggest an unfinished thought

Example: “If you give a pig a pancake, she’ll want some syrup to go with it….She’ll probably get all sticky, so she’ll want to take a bath. She’ll ask you for some bubbles. When you give her the bubbles…” (Numeroff)

Common Misuses• When quoting a source it is unnecessary to

use ellipsis marks at the beginning or the end of the quotation

Example: “…[The mouse is] going to ask for a glass of milk….When he’s finished, he’ll ask for a napkin” (Numeroff).

• Used to enclose direct quotations• Used to indicate dialogue• When enclosing a quotation within a quotation,

use single quotations surrounded by double quotations

• Used to indicate titles of short works• May be used to set off words used as words

Example: “If you give a cat a cupcake, he’ll ask for some sprinkles to go with it.”

The Quotation Marks

Common Misuses

• When indicating familiar slang, trite expressions, or an attempt at humor

Example: In the book If You Give a Pig a Pancake, the pig is like “yo gimme dat” yo gimme dat pancake.

Works Cited

"Apostrophes." Grammarbook. Weblink, 2010. Web. 3 Oct 2010.

Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. 6th. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.

Numeroff, Laura Joff. If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. 1st. New York City: HarperCollins, 1985. 32. Print.

---. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. 1st. New York City:Laura Geringer Books, 2008. Print.

---. If You Give a Pig a Pancake. 1st. New York City:Laura Geringer Books, 1998. Print.