The rules on the formation of possessives probably cause the greatest apostrophe confusion. They vary a bit depending on the type of name you make a possessive. Here are the basic rules: Finally, there are certain circumstances in which apostrophes are used to represent the omission of material in cases where they are not exactly contractions. First of all, some surnames of non-English origin are written with apostrophes: O`Leary (Irish), d`Abbadie (French), D`Angelo (Italian), M`Tavish (Scottish Gaelic). They are not really contractions because there is no other way to write them. ACELA1506: Understand how the grammatical category of possessives is indicated by apostrophes and how to use apostrophes with common and proper nouns. Students can learn more about contraction and possessive apostrophes in the department`s interactive “Laptop Wraps” resource. Put the apostrophe in its place. Style guides differ in their recommendations on what to do if you have a single proper name ending in s.
Some recommend adding a single apostrophe: Second, apostrophes are sometimes used to represent words in non-standard forms of English: for example, the Scottish poet Robert Burns writes gi` to give and a` for all. It is unlikely that you will need this device unless you cite such work. Personal pronouns, unlike regular nouns, do not use apostrophes to form possessives. Most authors have no problem with the possessive pronouns my, mine, his, her and bear. It is yours, yours, theirs, his, ours, theirs and theirs that tend to cause confusion. The relative possessive pronoun, which is also often the victim of apostrophe abuse. Note that no apostrophe is used in any of these forms. In fact, for some of these pronouns, the addition of an apostrophe forms a contraction instead of a possessive (see table above). The apostrophe is used when writing contractions – that is, in shortened word forms where one or more letters have been omitted. In Standard English, this usually only happens with a small number of conventional elements, most of which are verbs.
Here are some of the most common examples with their uncontracted counterparts: People use contractions both orally and in writing. They are so common that movies and books often try to make the characters look old-fashioned or strange by never using contractions. It`s a bit silly because English speakers have been using contractions for centuries – but not always the same ones we use today. Sooner or later, you`ll come across a phrase that sounds good out loud, but looks strange on paper because of the apostrophes. Do`s and don`ts? Do`s and don`ts? Do`s and don`ts? For cases like these, it`s best to check out a comprehensive style guide like the Chicago Manual or AP Stylebook (these are do`s and don`ts, according to the AP). A good dictionary may also be able to give you advice. If you can`t find a precedent, it`s probably best to use a different word or phrase. Using apostrophes too creatively will inevitably distract your readers. Such truncated forms are not considered contractions and should not be written with apostrophes. When you write things like “hippopotamus,” “bra,” “cello and phone,” so you don`t mince your words, you`ll look like an affected old duddy who doesn`t approve of anything that`s happened since 1912.
Of course, some of these truncated forms are even more familiar, and in formal writing, you`d usually rather write Detective and Alligator than Tec and Gator. Others, however, are quite normal in formal writing: even the most worthy music critic would call Ofra Harnoy`s instrument a cello; he would use the cello no more than he would apply the word omnibus to a London biplane. For example, contraction could not mean it could not. As you can see, the o in not is not in the word could not. The apostrophe goes in its place, exactly between n and t. Some words that were contractions a long time ago are still written conventionally with apostrophes, although the longer forms have more or less disappeared from use. There are so few that you can easily learn them all. Here are the most common, with their original longer forms: An apostrophe is part of the word to which it belongs, so it should not be separated from the word by periods, commas, question marks or other punctuation marks. Some authors use less frequent contractions when they want to represent a particular style of language. You could write something to represent how people often don`t pronounce the last g of “something” in the language. From time to time, you may see E`er (instead of never) in poetry. And of course, in the southern United States, you`ll probably meet all of you (all of you).
The names of the decades are often also contractually agreed: the 60s (the 1960s). In any case, note that the apostrophe appears exactly at the position of the omitted letters: We write cannot, not *ca`nt, and are, not *are`nt. Also note that irregular contraction does not take its apostrophe between n and t, just like all other contractions that do not. And also note that it would have had two apostrophes because the material of two positions was omitted. A few generations ago, there were a little more contractions in the use of English; These other contractions are now archaic, and you wouldn`t normally use any of them except in direct quotes from older written articles. Here are some of them, with their longer forms: The word “apostrophe” comes from the Greek words that mean to turn away or omit. After commas, apostrophes seem to be the most commonly used punctuation mark. Such contractions represent the most useful task that the apostrophe performs for us, because without it we would have no possibility of changing the difference between them and the shell, it becomes and hell, cannot and cannot, I become and sick, we are and were, it would do it and we would lose, we will do it and well, and maybe a few more..
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