Why are apostrophes important?

Transcription

1 Why are apostrophes important? The apostrophe has several jobs to do. The main job of the apostrophe is to show ownership, or possession. Are these Sondra s socks?

2 Singular nouns Possessive case Singular nouns and plural nouns Add an apostrophe and an s to form the possessive case of most singular nouns. a good night s of sleep the Sam s little little brother brother of Sam the beak duck s of beak the duck

3 Singular nouns and plural nouns The possessive case of a noun or pronoun is the form of the word that shows ownership or possession. Use Ken s calculations and record your results. Ken has the calculations. The results you have.

4 Singular nouns and plural nouns For singular common nouns ending in s, add both an apostrophe and an s if the added s is pronounced as a separate syllable. class the class s teacher dress the dress s sleeves

5 Plural nouns Possessive case Singular nouns and plural nouns If a plural noun ends in s, just add an apostrophe. the ducks beaks the Garzas car

6 Singular nouns and plural nouns Plural nouns Some irregular plural nouns do not end in s. Add an apostrophe and an s to form the possessive case. Singular Plural Plural Possessive Example child children children s man men men s children s playground men s store

7 Possessive personal pronouns A possessive personal pronoun never has an apostrophe even when the pronoun ends in s. Where is your locker? I forgot where my locker is. Mine is in the next hall. Its number is 302.

8 Possessive personal pronouns Most possessive personal pronouns have two forms. Where is your lunch? Did you forget yours? These forms are used before nouns. my your his, her, its our their mine yours his, hers, its ours theirs These forms stand alone. Do not put an apostrophe in any of these pronouns.

9 Possessive personal pronouns Be careful not to confuse possessive pronouns with contractions. Possessive pronouns never have apostrophes. Possessive pronoun Contraction of you are Your friend is busy. You re too busy.

10 Possessive personal pronouns These possessive pronouns and contractions are often confused because they sound alike. Possessive pronouns Whose bat is that? Listen to its meow. That kite is theirs. Their trees are tall. Contractions Who s at bat? It s meowing. There s a kite. They re tall trees.

11 Identify the possessive words in these sentences. Add apostrophes where needed. If a sentence is already correct, write C. 1. Is the librarys elevator working today? 2. Here is your book, but where is hers? 3. The Jacksons cat wears a collar. 4. Some childrens books have great pictures.

12 Identify the possessive words in these sentences. Add apostrophes where needed. If a sentence is already correct, write C. 1. Is the library s elevator working today? The possessive case of the singular noun library is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s.

13 Identify the possessive words in these sentences. Add apostrophes where needed. If a sentence is already correct, write C. 2. Here is your book, but where is hers? C The possessive case of pronouns is formed without apostrophes.

14 Identify the possessive words in these sentences. Add apostrophes where needed. If a sentence is already correct, write C. 3. The Jacksons cat wears a collar. The possessive case of the plural noun Jacksons is formed by adding an apostrophe after the s.

15 Identify the possessive words in these sentences. Add apostrophes where needed. If a sentence is already correct, write C. 4. Some children s books have great pictures. The possessive case of the irregular plural noun children is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s.

16 On Your Own For each sentence, write the possessive case of the word in parentheses. 1. All the cages should be cleaned. (hamsters) 2. Are these car keys? (you) 3. The crew wore uniforms. (ship) 4. class is on a field trip. (Mr. Clements) 5. The voices sounded far away. (men)

17 Answers For each sentence, write the possessive case of the word in parentheses. 1. All the hamsters cage should be cleaned. (hamsters) 2. Are these car keys? yours (you) 3. The ship s crew wore uniforms. (ship) 4. Mr. Clements class is on a field trip. (Mr. Clements) 5. The men s voices sounded far away. (men)

18 Indefinite pronouns In the possessive case, indefinite pronouns need an apostrophe and an s. The teacher asked for everybody s essay. No one s essay has been graded.

19 Indefinite pronouns An indefinite pronoun refers to one or more persons, places, or things that may or may not be specifically named. all each most one another either much other any everyone neither several anybody everything nobody some anyone few none somebody anything many no one something both more nothing such

20 Indefinite pronouns In casual speech, contractions formed using indefinite pronouns and is are very common. These contractions look and sound exactly like the possessive case of the pronouns. Contraction of someone is Someone s in the house!

21 Indefinite pronouns To determine whether the word is a contraction or the possessive case of an indefinite pronoun, try saying is instead of s. If is makes sense, the word is a contraction. No one s home yet. No one is home yet. In this sentence, No one s is a contraction, not the possessive case.

22 Special problems with possessives Compound nouns In compound nouns, only the last word is possessive in form. the Gulf of Mexico s currents my brother-in-law s job the vice-president s visit

23 Special problems with possessives A compound noun consists of two or more words that are used together as one noun. A compound noun may be written as one word firefighter written as separate words bowling alley playwright post office hyphenated hide-and-seek president-elect

24 Special problems with possessives The names of organizations and businesses may be compound nouns, too. the Community College Fund s scholarship the American Red Cross s swimming programs

25 Joint possession Possessive case Special problems with possessives When two or more nouns share possession, only the last noun is possessive in form. Stephanie, Darla, and Jacob s project Three students are working on one project.

26 Joint possession Possessive case Special problems with possessives When one of the words showing joint possession is a pronoun, both words should be in the possessive form. Her and Wanda s project Two students are working on one project.

27 Special problems with possessives Two or more persons possessing something individually When two or more persons each possess something, each of their names should be in the possessive form. Brent s and Mia s projects Each student has his or her own project. The noun projects is plural.

28 Special problems with possessives When talking about things owned by two or more people, be sure to check your apostrophes when you change a noun to a pronoun. John and Jenny s dog John s and her dog Two people own one dog together. Two people each own dogs. John s and Jenny s dogs John s and her dogs

29 Choose the correct form of the word or words in parentheses. 1. That is really (nobody s, nobodys ) business but my own. 2. Did (Carla s and Nate s, Carla and Nate s) song win a prize? 3. You can share (Peggy s and my, Peggy and my) tent on the camping trip.

30 Choose the correct form of the word or words in parentheses. 1. That is really (nobody s, nobodys ) business but my own. The possessive case of an indefinite pronoun is formed by adding an apostrophe and s.

31 Choose the correct form of the word or words in parentheses. 2. Did (Carla s and Nate s, Carla and Nate s) song win a prize? When two or more nouns possess one thing together (the song), only the last noun is in the possessive case.

32 Choose the correct form of the word or words in parentheses. 3. You can share (Peggy s and my, Peggy and my) tent on the camping trip. When two or more persons possess one thing together, and one of words is a pronoun, both words are in the possessive case.

33 On Your Own For each sentence, write the possessive case of the word in parentheses. 1. Keeping the laboratory clean is responsibility. (everyone) 2. We will meet at house tomorrow after school. (Michael and Junior) 3. Do you know what mascot is? (Robstown High School) 4. I think stories were the most interesting. (Stella and Stanley) [End of Section]

34 Answers For each sentence, write the possessive case of the word in parentheses. 1. Keeping the laboratory clean is everyone s responsibility. (everyone) 2. We will meet at Michael and Junior s house tomorrow after school. (Michael and Junior) 3. Do you know what Robstown High School s mascot is? (Robstown High School) 4. I think Stella s and Stanley s stories were the most interesting. (Stella and Stanley)