Apostrophes - Bloggercises

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English language skills can be learned the same way.

What will be offered here is a series of exercises on apostrophes, teaching through repetition in the same way Bloggercises is already doing with spelling, redundancies and clichés.

Look at the following seven sentences. Apostrophes may or may not be required. Write down the corrected sentences, and then check the answers below. If you are not certain, however, try going to this post first and finding the relevant section, and then the answer. Finding the answer this way will help you remember the rule.

The reds and yellows stand out more, but the blues are my favourites.

Americas 27th president was William Howard Taft.

During Tafts years of public service, he held positions as president and as the US Supreme Courts Chief Justice.

The Johnsons have a vegetable garden, the Blacks dont.

This mornings newspaper said that tonights game had been cancelled.

The views from its windows are limited.

No prizes for guessing whos entry won.

INTERLUDE
Fantasy art by contemporary Vietnamese artist
Hoang Nguyen. Image: ImagineFX.com

The reds and yellows stand out more, but the blues are my favourites.

America's 27th president was William Howard Taft.

During Taft's years of public service, he held positions as president and as the US Supreme Court's Chief Justice.

The Johnsons have a vegetable garden, the Blacks don't.

This morning's newspaper said that tonight's game had been cancelled.

The views from its windows are limited.

No prizes for guessing whose entry won.

With help from www.washburn.edu and grammar.about.com

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Grammar, Apostrophes

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Apostrocises

February 18th 2009 07:20

Repetition is a powerful learning tool. It is not always popular - think children reciting multiplication tables. But children also learn to operate DVD players and their remote controls, to play complicated on-line and console games, and to understand many of life's procedures and systems through repetition. Great chefs, carpenters and other artisans, musicians and athletes become skilled through repetition.

English language skills can be learned the same way.

What will be offered here is a series of exercises on apostrophes, teaching through repetition in the same way Bloggercises is already doing with spelling, redundancies and clichés.

Look at the following seven sentences. Apostrophes may or may not be required. Write down the corrected sentences, and then check the answers below. If you are not certain, however, try going to this post first and finding the relevant section, and then the answer. Finding the answer this way will help you remember the rule.

Nobodys saying apostrophes are easy.

Womens work is never done.

Use yours please.

You dont need hers.

Neither do you need theirs.

Its a long way, but its walkable.

Mr Jones room is a mess.

Buy your TVs and DVDs here.

INTERLUDE
Early Chinese figurine art. Image: www.affluentusa.com

Nobody's saying apostrophes are easy.

Women's work is never done.

Use yours please.

You don't need hers.

Neither do you need theirs.

It's a long way, but it's walkable.

Mr Jones's (or Jones') room is a mess.

Buy your TVs and DVDs here.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Grammar, Apostrophes

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Dark corners of the language: the apostrophe

February 14th 2009 06:07

Thirty years of politically correct correctness and educational fadism have relegated grammar to the back burner on the stove of intellectual awareness. In particular, correct usage of the apostrophe has collapsed, especially on the Internet and in small newsletters. It's as if the words its and it's have swapped places.

Sharon Colon, The Sharon Colon Apostrophe Manifesto

Newspapers around the world have gone high-tech, but the beating heart of all great newspapers, the subs' desk, has changed little. It is still ruled by grizzled veterans whose instinct for language is unparalleled because nobody else spends all day, every day, making so many decisions about the integrity of so many words written by so many people.

They are fierce guardians of the Style Guide of the publication for which they work, but they are by extension amongst the most vigilant protectors of the integrity of language.

Including correct usage of the poss, as English-language sub-editors often call the apostrophe.

It is a big subject, and it is one which can cause great frustration for users of English. What follows is an attempt to demonstrate common usage, and common errors, through examples. The plan is then to offer a series of exercises, as Bloggercises already does with spelling, redundancies and clichés, to help readers master use of the apostrophe through the expedience of repetition.

The material is presented in four sections:

Possession
Omission
Indicating plurals
Incorrect use

Possession
Apostrophes are used to denote possession in several ways.

Apostrophe before the s
Singular nouns: Sam's bike, Obama's presidency, day's end.

Singular nouns that end in s: boss's demand, James's decision.

Plural nouns which do not end in s: children's toys, the media's coverage, the Frenchmen's story.

Apostrophe after the s
Plural nouns: the houses' addresses, the employees' roster

People's and peoples'
To learn correct usage of these two is to learn much about correct use of apostrophes. The trick is to understand that the word people can take both singular and plural form. The People's Republic of China belongs to the people of China, the people here being a collective, single group. Peoples' views on China refers to the views of many people.

Omission
Contraction
The contraction of two words to form one is denoted by an apostrophe, which is inserted in place if the missing letter or letters. For example: I've, you've, we've, she's, it's (see item 1 above), who's, I'd, they'd, don't, haven't, didn't, weren't, can't, she'll, he'll.

The rule also applies to numbers. Hence: '60s, '70s, '80s etc (but never 80's or 1980's).

It's and its
This perhaps causes more hair to be forcefully removed from its natural resting place than any other grammatical issue. Obviously, one of them is short for it is, and the other one means something belongs to it. To help tell them apart in writing, only one takes an apostrophe. But which one? Try to remember the aphorism offered in an earlier Bloggercises post , "You can't possess your its and apostrophise it too." Meaning, the possessive form takes no apostrophe. Or try this, "It's obvious that its tail is wagging."

Your and you're
Another source of frustration for many people. Your belongs to you; you're is short for you are. You're not alone if you're confused. Your confusion is not yours alone.

Note: Ain't ain't a word.

Indicating plurals
Consider the following sentences: There are two o's in woolly; he was told to mind his p's and q's. The apostrophes are used here for clarity. It would be harder to read the sentence without them.

Spot the error

Incorrect use
Apostrophes are often added where none is required. Apostrophes should be used only to denote contraction or possession. Plurals never take apostrophes (except for clarity - see 'Indicating plurals' above), even shortened ones such as MPs, MP3s, CDs, TVs and FAQs. The following sentence, for example, needs no apostrophes: The Joneses borrow DVDs from the Smiths.

No apostrophes are required with words which themselves denote possession, such as 'their', 'our' and 'your'. For example: The mistake was theirs alone; the problem was ours, not yours.

No apostrophe is required in the following: In the 1920s. However, contracting it would create: In the '20s.

The Complete Plain Words (Sir Ernest Gowers, Penguin), The Economist Style Guide, www.deakin.edu.au, www.sharoncolon.com, apostropheusage.wordpress.com

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Apostrophes

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You can't possess your its and apostrophise it too

December 7th 2008 04:30

This will be about the shortest lesson on apostrophes you will see; it will be in the plainest language; and by the end of it some of the mystery of apostrophes will have been banished.

[ Click here to read more ]

103

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Grammar, Apostrophes

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Dark corners of the language: apostrophes

December 5th 2008 11:03

I had a friend, a woman of wit, charm and intelligence. She was about 50 years old when I met her, and she was successful in business and in life.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Grammar, Apostrophes

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