Section 4 Extracts of Drama: (B) An Enemy of the People Ex 4.3 (B)
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Apostrophe (') on English Grammar
Certainly! Apostrophes (') play several important roles in
English grammar. Here are the main uses:
1. Contractions: Apostrophes are used in
contractions to indicate missing letters. For example:
• "can't"
(contraction of "cannot")
• "don't"
(contraction of "do not")
• "won't"
(contraction of "will not")
2. Possessive Forms: Apostrophes are used to
indicate possession or ownership. The placement of the apostrophe depends on
whether the possessor is singular or plural:
• Singular
possessors: Add 's to the possessor. For example:
• "The
dog's bone" (the bone belonging to one dog)
• "Sara's
book" (the book belonging to Sara)
• Plural
possessors: If the plural noun doesn't end in -s, add 's; if it does end in -s,
just add an apostrophe. For example:
• "The
dogs' bones" (the bones belonging to multiple dogs)
• "The
children's toys" (the toys belonging to multiple children)
3. Indicating Omitted Letters in Words: Apostrophes are sometimes
used to indicate missing letters in slang or informal writing. For example:
• "I'm"
(contraction of "I am")
• "let's"
(contraction of "let us")
• "o'clock"
(contraction of "of the clock")
4. Plurals of Letters, Numbers, and
Symbols: Apostrophes
can be used to form the plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols to avoid
confusion. For example:
• "Mind
your p's and q's" (plural of the letters "p" and "q")
• "Dot
your i's and cross your t's" (plural of the letters "i" and
"t")
• "She
got all A's on her report card" (plural of the letter "A")
5. Forming Possessive Forms of Singular Nouns
Ending in -s: For singular nouns that end in -s, there's some variation in
whether to add just an apostrophe or 's for the possessive form. Both forms are
generally accepted. For example:
• "Charles'
car" or "Charles's car"
• "The
boss' office" or "The boss's office"
6. Avoiding Confusion:
Apostrophes are also used to avoid confusion in certain constructions. For
example:
• "It's"
is a contraction of "it is" or "it has," while
"its" is the possessive form of "it."
• "Who's" is a contraction of "who is" or "who has," while "whose" is the possessive form of "who."