salééém everybody,
well here is the second lesson of punctuation
apostrophes
Apostrophes are used:
To show possession (e.g., one dog's kennel , two dogs' kennel )
In time expressions (e.g., a day's pay , two weeks' holiday )
In contractions (e.g., can't , isn't , don't )
Apostrophes are not used:
To show plurals (e.g., three cat's , two video's ) wrong
Randomly before the letter s (e.g., He like's pies. ) wrong
Apostrophes Used Incorrectly with Plurals
Don't add an apostrophe to a word just because the word ends with the letter s. This is a common mistake, and it is a grammatical howler. (In other words, your readers will think you're a bit dim if you keep doing it.)
This mistake is most commonly seen when people form the plurals of nouns, but it happens with verbs too; e.g., He eat's pies. WRONG
Examples:
I like pig's. Dog's look up to us. Cat's look down on us. Pig's treat us as equal's.
(These are all wrong.)
I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
A spoken word is not a sparrow. Once it fly's out, you cannot catch it.
(This mistake is sometimes made with verbs too. This should be flies.)
Tomato's and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French; garlic makes it good.WRONG
(This mistake is particularly common when forming the plural of a noun which ends in a vowel (e.g., video's , banana's ). It should be tomatoes in this example.)
Apostrophes Used in Time Expressions
Apostrophes can be used in time expressions (also called temporal expressions) like a day's pay and two weeks' notice.
The big question with these is where to put the apostrophe. The ruling is quite simple: the apostrophe goes before the s for a single unit of time (e.g., one day's pay) and after the s when it's more than one (e.g., two days' pay).
Examples:
I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun. (Thomas Edison, 1847-1931)
It's not worth it for just two minutes' pleasure.
It's not always about time. For example:
I live a stone's throw away.
Don't think you have to use an apostrophe every time you write seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, etc. Only use an apostrophe where the word of could have been used.
a year's insurance
(a year of insurance)
two weeks' holiday
(two weeks of holiday)
Apostrophes Used to Replace Letters
An apostrophe can be used to replace a letter or letters (e.g., isn't, can't). The new word formed is called a contraction. Contractions are not usually used in formal correspondence.
When I was born I was so surprised I didn't talk for a year and a half. (Gracie Allen, 1906-1964)
Life is something that happens when you can't get to sleep. (Fran Lebowitz)
Contractions are most commonly used in informal writing to reflect how we speak. These two contractions are notorious grammar villains: it's and you're.
Apostrophes Used in Unusual Plurals
The first thing to say about this topic is that apostrophes are not normally used to show plurals, and lots of your readers will hate it if you use an apostrophe for this purpose. However, that said, there are times when it helps to use an apostrophe to show a plural. For example:
There are two i's in skiing.
You use too many but's in your writing.
Of course, there are other ways of writing these. For example:
There are two Is in skiing.
You use too many "but"s in your writing.
The bottom line is apostrophes can be used in this way and for good reason — the apostrophe version is usually neater and clearer. However, be aware that you run the risk of annoying a high proportion of your readers if you do it.
Apostrophes Used for Possession
Apostrophes are used to show possession. For example:
The dog's kennel
The dogs' kennel
The big question is whether to put the apostrophe before the s or after the s. The basic rule is this: the apostrophe goes before the s for a single possessor (e.g., one dog's kennel) and after the s when it's more than one possessor (e.g., two dogs' kennel).
Note: In the these examples, the dog and dogs are the possessors. It has got nothing to do with kennel. That word can be singular or plural. It makes no difference whatsoever to where the apostrophe goes. For example:
One dog's dinner
One dog's dinners
Two dogs' dinner
Two dogs' dinners
This ruling seems quite straightforward, but there are exceptions. The most notable exception is when the plural doesn't end in s (e.g., children, women, people, men). These words have the apostrophe before the s (even though they're plural). For example:
children's toys
women's hat
(Here's another issue. It's not always about possession. This means a hat for women. Similarly, Picasso's painting is a painting by Picasso. He doesn't own it. Sometimes, it's about "possession" in the loosest terms.)
people's poet
men's sizes
GooD LuCK DeaR FRieNDS
well, i hope you learned some new things today
quess i 'll see you soon
PeaCe
( تقرير عن مشاركة سيئة )، و الموجودة أسفل كل مشاركة .
2013-09-22, 15:17
apostrophes (')
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