To show possession with a singular noun, add an apostrophe plus the letter s. With plural nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and s. If the apostrophe comes before the s, we know that one dog has multiple leashes. To show plural possession of a word ending in an s or s sound, form the plural first. The pepins house is the big blue one on the corner. Provides an online resource for grammar and punctuation usage with lessons, quizzes, and an optional test to evaluate the understanding of the material. Thanks again to lester and tom, who recently released a new edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation. The ultimate flowchart to using apostrophes infographic.
If the word already ends in s, simply add an apostrophe to form the possessive. Possession singular possession plural possession with names ending in s with. When the last comma in a series comes before and or or after daughterinlaw in theabove example, it is known as the oxford comma. A revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide. An apostrophe is also used to form the plurals of letters and digits. It doesnt take a lifetime to master english grammar and punctuation.
What sets this great book apart is the 40 pages of quizzes. The blue book of grammar and punctuation 11th edition. Use an apostrophe and s to show the plural of a number. Grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar and. The best grammar and punctuation books recommended by mark nichol. The apostrophe with numbers, letters, and abbreviations. However, if one of the joint owners is written as a pronoun, use the possessive form for both. American libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library open library featured. The logic is that all names should be treated the same. Use an apostrophe and s to show the plural of a letter. The rules for using an apostrophe to show plural forms are.
When a plural noun ends in s, place an apostrophe after the s to show possession. The best grammar and punctuation books five books expert. If the apostrophe appears before the letter s then it may denote that the possessive case is singular, i. With plural nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe after the s. Brian gets irritated when he sees signs advertising cds for sale with it written cdapostrophes. But if the apostrophe comes after the s, we understand that many dogs have a variety of leashes. Sometimes, its called the grocers apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements 3 oranges for a dollar. The blue book of grammar and punctuation flashcards quizlet. The book, common sense or more specifically the authorship of the book, belongs equally to lederer and shore, so only the second name, shore, takes the apostrophe and s. Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. The apostrophe probably causes more grief than all of the other punctuation marks put together. Correct grammar and punctuation are key to making a good impression. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This handy workbook is ideal for teachers, students in middle school through college, esl students, homeschoolers, and professionals.
The blue book of grammar and punctuation leans towards usage rules in cms along with other authoritative texts and does not attempt to conform to the ap stylebook, which differs significantly in some aspects. With possessive pronouns such as his, hers, and ours. Write the correct form of the words in the boxes below. Constitution but constitutional, the electoral college, department of agriculture. The location of the apostrophe clues an educated reader about numbers. There are conflicting policies and theories about how to show possession when writing. Add an apostrophe then the s just as if it were a singular noun like this. Apostrophe english grammar today cambridge dictionary. By contrast, when two or more nouns separately possess something, add an apostrophe to each noun listed. Apostrophes quiz 1 the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Decide whether the apostrophe s is possessive s or it stands for hasis. The blue book of grammar and punctuation object case objective. Start studying the blue book of grammar and punctuation ch.
More than one soldier, apostrophe and no additional s james book was blue. The blue book of grammar and punctuation is filled with easytounderstand rules, realworld examples, dozens of reproducible exercises, and pre and posttests. Omit the s after the apostrophe when a word ends in two sibilant sounds the ch, j, s. More than one cat, then the apostrophe and you dont need another s the soldiers co was awarded the dsm.
However, if the name or word itself ends in s for example, dress or ozymandias, then you find yourself in. The problem nearly always seems to stem from not understanding that the apostrophe has two very different and very important uses in english. The blue book of grammar and punctuation, eleventh edition. Most newspapers and magazines drop theoxford comma in a simple. When it comes to legal writing, the ap stylebook holds little sway. Grammar geek mark nichol, a writer at daily writing tips, picks five of the best grammar and punctuation books, and tells us why bad grammar leads to anarchy. Use a comma to separate contrasting parts of a sentence.
The blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to english grammar, punctuation, and usage. If youre talking about something that belongs to him, always add apostrophe s. If the word doesnt end in s, add an apostrophe followed by s to form the possessive. Apostrophes the blue book of grammar and punctuation. While normal people wonder about apostrophes in general, believe it or not, word nerds have heated arguments over whether to use an additional s with singular possession rule 1. All it takes is the blue book of grammar and punctuation. In february 2014, a new edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation will be issued. To create their possessive, simply add an apostrophe after the s. Jennifer lopezs music, the witnesss report, jamess poetry one exception to this rule is to add only an apostrophe when adding the apostrophe plus s makes the word difficult to pronounce. Grammar and vocab challenge learn while challenging others get listed on the leaderboard get e. Apostrophes with names ending in s, ch, or z grammar and. It isnt the quantity of the noun singularplural that determines the placement of the apostrophe when forming the possessive.
This is particularly common when the letters are written in the small case. Joness document only when the word is plural and possessive do you place the apostrophe outside the s. For clarity, most writers use apostrophes with single capital letters and singledigit numbers. Everything you need to know about this little mark. Grammar rules the blue book of grammar and punctuation. To form the possessive of a singular noun that does end in s or an s sound, add an apostrophe plus s to the noun. For each of the following, choose the correct sentence.
Written without jargon for all of us who need simple answers to our everyday questions, this new, updated version has 50% more materialrules, exercises, tests, and answersand a new cover that is both sleek and durable. Their practice is that any time a words ends in s, you put an apostrophe after the s to make it possessive. With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make nouns plural. With a singular noun you simply add an apostrophe plus the letter s to. Apostrophes are no longer used to form plurals of years. When one of the coowners is written as a pronoun, use possessive adjectives my, your, her, our, their. Apostrophes punctuation rules blue book of grammar. The plurals for capital letters and numbers above nine do not require apostrophes, but some use them anyway. Making an irregular plural noun possessive when it does not end in s is very simple. No one writing handbook or grammar guide should suffice for careful writers, and though jane strauss the blue book of grammar and punctuation is less comprehensive than some other resources, its largeformat workbook approach provides a readerfriendly introduction to the intricacies of proper prose straus was still a college student when she began her career as a writing consultant for.
The blue book of grammar and punctuation will amuse you while demystifying the rules of grammar and punctuation. Various situations in possessives grammar call for a few seemingly tricky rules. Apostrophes with words ending in s grammar and punctuation. Check your results by clicking on submit worksheet subject explanations. This userfriendly resource includes simple explanations of grammar, punctuation, and usage. If there are more than one errors, separate corrected words with a space and a hyphen as in the examples. Sam and mary johnson live in a large house with their two daughters rachel and jenna johnson.
This is james book, and this is actually a really good one because some people will say you cant say. The apostrophe in contractions the most common use of apostrophes in english is for contractions, where a noun. English rules the blue book of grammar and punctuation. With over 200,000 copies sold, this is one of the most highly trusted english language resources available. For example, the associated press ap stylebook is a guide specific for news media and journalists while the chicago manual of style cms is used by many book publishers and writers.
Many common nouns end in the letter s lens, cactus, bus, etc. Although the apostrophe is not used in writing plurals, it is used in writing the plurals of letters and other forms which would be difficult to read without the apostrophe. There are conflicting policies and theories about how to show possession when writing such nouns. If it appears after the s, then it will most likely be plural, i. Gen wrote in about the same thing, feeling a sense of horror after seeing cds written with an apostrophe in the new york times. The apostrophe is used to show 1 possessives of nouns and some pronouns, 2 contractions, and 3 some plurals. I dont care whether its james or john, jones or smith.
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