Friday, May 14, 2010

Mini Grammar Lesson of the Day

How to use apostrophes

Do you ever wonder how to correctly use apostrophes? Wonder no more. Here is a brief lesson to help you.

Apostrophes are mainly used to show possession or to create contractions. You use apostrophes to show possession in sentences such as "Tom's car needs maintenance," and "We are going to my parents' house." (Because "parents" is plural and ends in an "s," the apostrophe comes at the end of the word.) To create contractions, use an apostrophe to take the place of missing letters as in "can't" (for can not), "we're" (for we are), and "haven't" (for have not).

Never use apostrophes to create a plural. The plural of "tree" is "trees," not "tree's." Also, if you would like to talk to the Wharys (Ryan and I), you do not spell it "Whary's," but you might want to go see us at "the Wharys' house."

Special possessives: Pronouns do not require apostrophes to show possession; there are already special pronouns that serve that purpose such as her, his, your, its, my, and their and hers, his, yours, mine, and theirs. Pronouns need apostrophes to make contractions: you're (you are), they're (they are), and it's (it is) are three of the most commonly misused words I see on facebook.

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