Abused Apostrophes A story with a happy ending. All over the country punctuation enthusiasts are horrified by the terrible abuse suffered by innocent.

Abused Apostrophes

A story with a happy ending

All over the country punctuationenthusiasts are horrified by the terrible abuse suffered by innocent little punctuation marks...

But now there’shope. . .

In a small shelter in rural Hardin County, apostrophes are beingcared for by a select group of punctuation enthusiasts.

Here these little fellows can mingle in a safe environment

with other survivors of apostrophe abuse . . .

Hopefully they will one day recover

And return to thecommunity wherethey can lead usefullives . . .

In showing possession . .

You may enter the Abused Apostrophe Shelterthrough this door . . .

But be prepared for some shocking sights . . .

The abuse is hideous . . .

Sooooo . . . All children get Eastereggs, but only one teenager????

Well, yes it does,doesn’t it?

We were sorry to hear about Glady’sMay....

But even sorrier to hear about Gladys . . .

Thankfully, you can help end the abuse.

It’s easy. Just follow a few simplerules to show possession

The apostrophe has only a handful of uses, but these uses are very important. A misplaced apostrophe can be annoying —

not to mention lonely.

THE APOSTROPHE

1. to create possessives

2. to show contractions

3. to create some plural forms

The apostrophe is used:

THE APOSTROPHEThe apostrophe is used to create possessive forms for singular and plural nouns, especially nouns referring to people.

the mayor’s car, my father’s moustache

Pedrito’s sister, Joe Kennedy’s habits

THE APOSTROPHE

When a noun already ends in “s,” you can decide whether or not to use another “s” after the apostrophe.Charles’s car OR Charles’ car

Dumas’ second novel, Jesus’ birth,

Socrates’ ideas, Illinois’ legislature

With multi-syllable words, don’t add another “s” after the apostrophe.

THE APOSTROPHE

To form the possessive of a thing, we’re usually better off using an “of phrase,” but the apostrophe possessive can be used

The roar of the greasepaint,

the smell of the crowd

a year’s salary, my heart’s desire, your

dollar’s worth, the paper’s conclusion

THE APOSTROPHE

To form the possessive of a plural noun, we make it plural first and then add the apostrophe.

The Kennedys’ houseThe children’s playhouse

The travelers’ expectations

Notice that with an irregular plural, the apostrophe will come before the “s.”

Apostrophe Practice

The girls locker room

The papers edges

The papers edge

The Ambassadors Hotel

‘

‘

‘

‘

THE APOSTROPHEA contraction allows us to omit letters. The apostrophe shows where something is left out.

I am a student here = I’m a student here.

I have been working on the railroad. = I’ve been working on the railroad.

They could have been great together. = They

could’ve been great together.

THE APOSTROPHEMore contraction examples:

Let us go. = Let’s go.

Who is there? = Who’s there?

It is Dierdre. = It’s Dierdre.REMINDER: It’s is a contraction for “it is”; the possessive of it = its (no apostrophe).

THE APOSTROPHE

The apostrophe is also used to form the plural of numbers and letters . . . The word Mississippi has four s’s.

She got three A’s and two B’s last semester.

She dotted all her i’s very carefully.

. . . and to indicate omission of a number in a date:

summer of ’99; class of ’38

THE APOSTROPHE

The apostrophe doesn’t mind being used, but it wants to be used wisely.

You can practice the apostrophe and the other marks of punctuation in your

grammar book.

THE APOSTROPHE

Remember the simple rules for apostrophe use:

1. to create possessives

2. to show contractions

3. to create some plural forms

The apostrophe is used:

Help Stop the Abuse