Apostrophe Usage

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Apostrophe Usage

• A Quick Guide by
• Samuel Njoroge

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What it looks like

• This is an apostrophe.

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Usage

• Possession of Nouns
• Possession of Plural Nouns
• Multiple Nouns
• Contractions
• Numbers / Letters

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Usage Cont

• Apostrophes are used with nouns to show
  possession.
• Example The dogs bone.
• Example This weeks assignment.

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QUESTION

• BUT WHAT ABOUT NOUNS ENDING WITH S ???

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ANSWER

• If the nouns singular -gt Use Apostrophe after
  s
• Also Add an s if it doesnt lead to an awkward
  pronunciation.

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For Example!

• Mister Rogers Neighborhood
• Socrates work
• Rosss paper
• Thomass car

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If Noun is Plural

• Use an apostrophe following the noun.
• Add s only if the noun does not end in s.

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For Example!

• Childrens section
• Curriculas flaws
• The cats toys
• The students complaint

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Omitting Apostrophes

• Companies, places, and Institutions often omit
  them!
• Example Starbucks Coffee
• Peoples Republic

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NO WAY JOSE!

• Apostrophes are NOT used with possessive
  pronouns.
• Example his, hers, yours, theirs, ours, its

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Multiple Nouns

• Apostrophes should be used according to intended
  meaning.
• Example
• Bob and Saras wedding was nice.
• Bobs and Saras weddings were nice.

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Contractions

• Apostrophes are used in contractions.
• Example
• Do not Dont
• Will not Wont
• They are theyre
• It is Its

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Numbers/Letters

• Apostrophes are also used to indicate missing
  numbers and letters.
• Example
• 1990s 90s
• Nothing Nothin

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MLA and APA

• MLA and APA discourage the use of apostrophes in
  some plurals.
• Example
• The 1990s
• A pair of 6s
• Too many PCs

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Yet another Big NO!

• Do NOT use apostrophes with non- possessive nouns
  or present-tense verbs.

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Tricky Stuff

• Only use apostrophe with the word it is -gt its
• Do NOT use it with the word its
• Example
• Do not push its button. (possessive pronoun)
• Its going to rain. (contraction- It is going to
  rain.)
• Its fur is soft. (possessive pronoun)
• Do you know what its for? (contraction- Do you
  know what it is for?)

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Boring Stuff

• References
• Hult, C. A., Huckin, T. N. (2005). The
  Apostrophe. In The New Century
• Handbook (3rd ed., pp. 866-870). New York
  Pearson Education.
• Notley, S. (2005). Bob the Angry Flower.
  Retrieved October 25, 2005, from
• http//www.angryflower.com/aposter.html

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THE END!