unit 3: apostrophes guided notes · web viewfor instance, the difference in meaning between shell...

UNIT 3: APOSTROPHES Guided Notes ENG IIB

Define the following:

Shell_________________________________________________________________________________

She’ll ________________________________________________________________________________

Shed_________________________________________________________________________________

She’d________________________________________________________________________________

So, what exactly is an apostrophe?

It is a punctuation mark that looks like this:

No. It’s not a comma. It’s the punctuation used in the “it’s” in this sentence.

Apostrophes are necessary for expressing meaning clearly in written English. For instance, the difference in meaning between shell and she’ll or shed and she’d. is indicated in writing by the apostrophe (and, of course, the context).

1 KMH- RCSHSTaken from Warriner’s English Composition and Grammar, Third Course, Chapter 25 and Supplementary Resources


If you sometimes forget to use apostrophes, or if you use them incorrectly, the rules in this unit will prove helpful.

PART ONE - POSSESSIVES

Possessive Case

What does possessive mean?_____________________________________________________________

The possessive of a noun or pronoun shows ownership or relationship. The nouns and pronouns in boldfaced type in the following sentences are in the possessive case.

OWNERSHIP She is a teacher in Maria’s school.

Can I count on your vote?

RELATIONSHIP Anne’s friend uses a wheelchair.

You need a good night’s sleep

RULE 1: To form the ____________________ case of a ____________________ noun, add an

APOSTROPHE and an _____.

EXAMPLES Kia’s problems. A night’s work

The mayor’s job this evening’s paper

Mrs. Hedrick’s desk a dollar’s worth

Exception: A _________________________ ending in _____ may add only an apostrophe if the

name consists of _________________________ syllables or if the addition of the

_____ would make the name awkward to pronounce.

What is a proper noun?__________________________________________________________________

EXAMPLES Ulysses’ plan Mrs. Rawlings’ car



EXERCISE 1 - Using Apostrophes to Form the Possessive Case of Singular Nouns.

Form the possessive case of each of the following singular words. After each possessive word, write an appropriate noun.

EXAMPLE 1. Theresa

1. Theresa’s pencil

1. Baby _________________________________________________________________________

2. Uncle _________________________________________________________________________

3. Year __________________________________________________________________________

4. Cent __________________________________________________________________________

5. Car ___________________________________________________________________________

6. Terry _________________________________________________________________________

7. Ellen _________________________________________________________________________

8. Mouse ________________________________________________________________________

9. Mr. James _____________________________________________________________________

10. Ms. Joyce ______________________________________________________________________



RULE 2: To form the ____________________ case of a ____________________ noun ending in

_____, add __________ the APOSTROPHE.

EXAMPLES both aunts’ husbands cousins’ visit

What does plural mean?_________________________________________________________________

Although most plural nouns end in s, some are irregular. To form the possessive case of a plural noun that does not end in s, add an apostrophe and an s.

EXERCISE 2 – Forming the Possessive Case of Plural Nouns

Write the possessive case of each of the following plural nouns:

1. Women_______________________________________________________________________

2. Cats __________________________________________________________________________

3. Teachers ______________________________________________________________________

4. Enemies _______________________________________________________________________

5. Princesses _____________________________________________________________________

6. Dollars ________________________________________________________________________

7. Elves _________________________________________________________________________

8. Oxen _________________________________________________________________________

9. Mice _________________________________________________________________________

10. Parents _______________________________________________________________________



Do NOT use an apostrophe to form the plural of a noun.Remember that the apostrophe shows ownership or relationship; because of this it is nearly always followed by a noun.

INCORRECT Two players’ left their gym suits in the locker room.CORRECT Two players left their gym suits in the locker room. (plural, not

possessive)

CORRECT Two players’ gym suits were left in the locker room. (The apostrophe shows that the gym suits belong to the two players.

EXERCISE 3 – Correcting Phrases by Forming the Possessive Case of Nouns.

Revise the following phrases by using the possessive case.

EXAMPLE 1. parties for seniors

1. the seniors’ parties

1. Prizes for winners ______________________________________________________________

2. Manners for teenagers ___________________________________________________________

3. Yokes of oxens _________________________________________________________________

4. Duties of nurses ________________________________________________________________

5. Names of players _______________________________________________________________

6. Suits for women ________________________________________________________________



7. Organization for principals ________________________________________________________8. Medals for veterans _____________________________________________________________9. Routines for dancers _____________________________________________________________10. Roles for actresses ______________________________________________________________

EXERCISE 4. Recognizing Correct Forms of Nouns.

Number your paper 1-10. After the proper number, write the correct form of the noun parentheses.

EXAMPLE 1. Two (candidates, candidates’) spoke at the (voters, voters’) forum.

1. Candidates, voters’

1. Two (friends, friends’) and I asked the (mayor’s, mayors) committee to set aside Lake Palmer as a wildlife sanctuary. _____________________________________________________________

2. On a recent hike along the lake, we saw several (birds, birds’) nests. ______________________

3. A flock of (ducks, ducks’) paddled in the shallow water. _________________________________

4. A (ducks, duck’s) bill sieves out tiny water (plants, plants’) and (animals, aminals’).

______________________________________________________________________________

5. At this time of year, the (mallard’s, mallards) plumage is especially colorful. ________________6. We tried not to disturb some (grebes, grebes’) that were swimming with their young on their

(backs, backs’). _________________________________________________________________7. Pilar pointed out how the young (birds, birds’) held onto their (parents, parents’) feathers with

their (bills, bills’). _______________________________________________________________8. Two meetings have been scheduled to hear opposing (views, views’) on the proposal.

______________________________________________________________________________9. (Citizens, Citizens’) rights as well as environmental concerns must be considered.

______________________________________________________________________________10. The (childrens, childrens’) point of view will be presented by my sister (Karen’s, Karens) friend.

______________________________________________________________________________



SUMMARYThe following examples illustrate Rules 1 and 2.

SINGULAR SINGULAR POSSESSIVE

PLURAL PLURAL POSSESSIVE

Cousin Cousin’s letter Cousins Cousins’ lettersStudent Student’s paper Students Students’papersWeek Week’s salary Weeks Two weeks’ salaryDime Dime’s worth Dimes Two dimes’ worth

Hostess Hostess’s idea Hostesses Hostesses’ ideasPony Pony’s harness Ponies Ponies’ harnessesLynx Lynx’s roar Lynxes Lynxes’ roarsWife Wife’s career Wives Wives’ careersMan Man’s shirt Men Men’s shirtsChild Child’s toy Children Children’s toysHero Hero’s medal Heroes Heroes’ medals

RULE 3: __________________________________________ do NOT require an apostrophe.

Possessive Personal Pronouns are:

My, mine our, oursYour, yours their, theirsHis, her, hers, its

The possessive form of who is whose, not who’s (meaning “who is”). Similarly, do not write it’s (meaning “it is”) for its, or they’re (meaning “they are”) for their.

My, your, her, its, our, and their are used before a noun. Mine, yours, hers, ours, and theirs, on the other hand, are never used before a noun; they are used as subjects, complements, or objects in sentences. His may be used either way.

EXAMPLES That is your watch. That watch is yours. Her idea was wonderful. Hers was the



best idea.

Samantha has your sweater. Samantha has a sweater of yours.

Renell has our plant; Ariel has theirs.

There is his record. There is a record of his.

EXERCISE 5 – Recognizing Correct Forms of Possessive Personal Pronouns.

Circle the correct form of the pronoun in parentheses.

1. You will be pleased to hear, Sumi, that two poems of (yours, yours’) have been selected for the

literary magazine.

2. When I first read this book, I was surprised by the quality of (its, it’s) artwork.

3. (Hers, Hers’) is the bicycle with the reflectors on (its, it’s) fendrs.

4. Eudora Welty, (who’s, whose) short stories involve eccentric characters, is my favorite writer.

5. “The trophy is (ours, ours’)!” shouted the captain as the Flying S crossed the finish line.

6. (Theirs, Theirs’) is the only house with blue shutters, so you should have no difficulty finding it.

7. Penny and Arline worked as gardeners this summer and saved (their, they’re) money for a ski

trip.

8. The students (who’s, whose) names are called are to report backstage.

9. (Their, They’re) schedule calls for a math test on Tuesday.

10. (Who’s, Whose) signature is this?



RULE 4 _____________________ in the ____________________ case require an

apostrophe and an S.

THE INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

ALL ANYTHING EVERYONE MOST

ANOTHER BOTH EVERYTHING MUCH

ANY EACH FEW NEITHER

ANYBODY EITHER MANY NOBODY

ANYONE EVERYBODY MORE NONE

NO ONE OTHER SOME SOMEONE

ONE SEVERAL SOMEBODY

EXAMPLES nobody’s wish another’s point of view

Someone’s license neither’s school

EXERCISE 6. Recognizing Correct Forms of Possessive Pronouns.

Circle the correct form of the pronoun in parentheses.

1. The reward is (yours, your’s).

2. (Ours, Our’s) works better than (theirs, their’s).

3. (Who’s, Whose) game is that?

4. (Theirs, Their’s) is not to reason why; (theirs, their’s) is but to do and die.

5. My family is pleased with (its, it’s) vacations.

6. It wasn’t (anyone’s, anyones’) fault that we missed the bus.

7. (Eithers, Either’s) project may win first prize at the Science Fair.

8. (Ones, One’s, Ones’) tech should be checked regularly.

9. (Everybodys, Everybody’s, Everybodys’) trees must be irrigated.

10. The dog of (their’s, theirs) should be on a leash.



Review Practice. Writing the Singular, Plural, and Possessive Forms of Nouns

Use the Columns below. Write the appropriate form for each of the numbered words in

the appropriate column followed by a suitable noun to follow each word in the possessive case.

If you do not know how to spell the word in plural form use a dictionary.

# SINGULAR SINGULAR

POSSESSIVE

PLURAL PLURAL

POSSESSIVE

1 PARENT

2 TYPIST

3 BICYCLE

4 REFEREE

5 BABY

6 WOMAN

7 PENNY

8 HARDWARE

STORE

9 MUSICIAN

10 LIONESS

PART TWO CONTRACTIONS

Rule 5 Use ______________________________________________________________



______________________________________________________________________________

contraction.

A contraction is a shortened form of a word or figure (_________ for ____________________,

__________for _______________) or of a group of words

(_______________for____________________, _______________for ____________________,

_______________ for ____________________). Contractions are used chiefly in conversation

and in informal writing. The apostrophes in contractions indicate where letters have been left

out.

EXAMPLES I am not going. I’m not going.

You are early. You’re early.

Betty is studying. Betty’s studying.

She has left already. She’s left already.

I had made a mistake. I’d made a mistake.

Ordinarily, the word not is shortened to n’t and added to a verb without any change in the

spelling of the verb.

Is not Isn’t Were not Weren’t

Are not Aren’t Has not Hasn’t

Does not Doesn’t Have not Haven’t

Do not Don’t Had not Hadn’t

Did not Didn’t Would not Wouldn’t

Was not Wasn’t Should not Shouldn’t

EXCEPTIONS EXCEPTIONS EXCEPTIONS EXCEPTIONS

Will not Won’t Cannot Can’t

REMEMBER: Do not confuse contractions with possessive pronouns. Study the following lists:

CONTRACTIONS POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS



Who’s at bat? (Who is) Whose bat is that?

It’s roaring. (it is) Listen to its roar.

You’re too busy. (you are) Your friend is busy.

There’s a kite. (There is) That kite is theirs.

They’re tall trees. (they are) Their trees are tall.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 8. Correcting Sentences by Using apostrophes for Contractions. If any of the following

sentences has a contraction without an apostrophe, write the word and add a correctly placed

apostrophe on the line that follows. If a sentence is correct as it stands, write a C.

1. “You’ve changed,” she said. ______________________________________________________

2. World War II ended in 45. ________________________________________________________

3. Whos coming to the party? _______________________________________________________

4. “The stores about to close,” said the clerk. ___________________________________________

5. Several stores were closed because of the storm. ______________________________________

6. Well try to make it. ______________________________________________________________

7. Well, try to make it. _____________________________________________________________

8. She gets up at 6 o clock. __________________________________________________________

9. Im very glad to meet you. _________________________________________________________

10. Dont you play chess?_____________________________________________________________

Exercise 9. Recognizing the Correct Use of Apostrophes. Choose the correct word in

parentheses and circle it.



1. I think ( your, you’re ) the best.

2. ( Who’s, Whose ) going my way?

3. ( It’s, Its ) your turn.

4. Who is and who has may be shortened to ( who’s, whose ).

5. ( There, Their, They’re ) washing the windows.

6. ( It’s, Its ) is a contraction.

7. ( It’s, Its ) is a possessive pronoun.

8. ( Who’s, Whose ) that masked man?

9. ( Who’s, Whose ) sneakers are these?

10. ( Theirs, There’s ) no end in sight.

PLURALS

Rule 6 Use _________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________



___________________________________________________________________________

referred to as words.

EXAMPLES Grandmas always tells me to mind my p’s and q’s.

You received three 80’s and two 90’s.

Do not use &’s for and’s.

Exercise 10. Forming the Plurals of Items by using Apostrophes. Correctly form the plural

of each of the following italicized items.

1. q look like g _____________________________________________________________

2. The late 1960 ____________________________________________________________

3. Put X at the end __________________________________________________________

4. + and - _________________________________________________________________

5. All A and B ______________________________________________________________

6. Pronoun your t ___________________________________________________________

7. No but, please ___________________________________________________________

8. Their oh and ah __________________________________________________________

9. Row of Z ________________________________________________________________

10. Dot your i _______________________________________________________________


unit 3: apostrophes guided notes · web viewfor instance, the difference in meaning between shell...

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