Week 11

APOSTROPHE FOR CONTRACTION

One of the two major functions of the apostrophe is to show contraction. When we contract words or phrases or figures, we shrink them or draw them together by eliminating a letter or letters (or numbers) and denote that elimination by inserting an apostrophe (').The apostrophe tells us that one or more letters have been left out. It is important, therefore, to place the apostrophe where the omission is.

Contraction in writing is meant to reflect speech and so tends to bring a casual tone to written language. The writer, therefore, should be certain that the conversational tone is appropriate for the writing at hand.

Formal writing and even most informal writing will not include contractions of the kind illustrated here, except in quotations. The writer's judgment regarding contractions is crucial.

In any case, when words are contracted, the conventions offered here must be followed.

* Alice doesn't (does not) live here anymore.

*I can't (cannot) believe she's (she is) gone.

*She's (She is) somewhere in Tennessee, I've (I have) been told.

*"I'm (I am) not goin' (going) home no mo' (more)," Ambrose whispered, "'cause (because) I'm (I am) tired of arguin' (arguing). "

(All the contractions in the sentence above, except I'm, denote dialect and should be written only in dialog.)

* Who's (Who is) going to tell me who's (who has) been eating my porridge?

*You're (You are) the one who told me she was in the Class of '79 (1979), aren't (are you not) you?

* "It's a most amaz'n' (amazing) good idea, duke-you have got a rattlin' (rattling) clever head on you." (from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.)

Remember, place the apostrophe at the spot where the omission occurs. Use only one apostrophe to indicate an omission, whether that omission is of one letter or two or more.

APOSTROPHES FOR CONTRACTION—EXERCISE


YOUR NAME:
YOUR EMAIL:
TODAY'S DATE:

PART I: Spell out the contractions in the following sentences, but be sure to keep the sense of the original sentences intact. Make the changes right beneath the contractions (they are all in bold type); you do not need to rewrite the sentences.

It's hard to believe that my daughter is three years old. I've returned to work, so we're sending her to a daycare center. My mother keeps saying, "You're going to be sorry. You'll miss all the cute things she does."

"I would've stayed home if I could've , but we need the money," I told her. It wasn't easy to leave Livia the first day. I haven't forgotten the way she cried when I left her. My husband doesn't understand why I'm still worrying about her. If he'd heard her crying that day he'd understand. She's enjoying herself now, but she's been getting into fights. When the teacher called to say Livia was pinching other children, I almost couldn't believe it. My husband is sure she'll stop soon.

PART II:

A. Where does the apostrophe go in a contraction?

B. What tone does the use of contractions bring to writing?

APOSTROPHE FOR POSSESSION

Although it is the traditional term for indicating the second major function of the apostrophe, possession may be misleading.

Neither the apostrophe (') nor the apostrophe and an "s" ('s) demonstrates that one thing is owned by another; it denotes, rather, a close relationship between two or more nouns by turning one of the nouns into a modifier (an adjective, more precisely: John's shoe).

But the terms possession and possessive have become verbal habits, terms of convenience. As with some other matters of mechanics, the use of the apostrophe for possession is, in our time, in transition; that is, there are mixed practices. The guides offered in this lesson, however, are relatively straightforward and should offend no reader, permissive or purist.

1. To form the possessive of singular nouns that do not end in the letter "s" add 's.

Jim's nose my sister's thesis Helen's teeth a person's work an hour's pay Susanne Langer's philosophy

NOTICE that the noun in the possessive case (Jim becomes Jim's ) acts like a modifier, an adjective (which or whose nose? Jim's).

2. To form the possessive of singular nouns that end in the letter "s" add 's if the resulting word is not difficult to say.

If adding the extra s sound would make the word difficult to pronounce, add just an apostrophe. It is always correct to add the 's to make singular nouns possessive.

extra s sound is easy to pronounce so add 's in these words:

Queen Bess's throne

James's bike

my boss's office

extra s sound would be hard to pronounce in these words so add just an apostrophe:

Charles Dickens' novels

Ulises' car

for goodness' sake

3. To form the possessive of plural nouns not ending with "s" add 's.

women's rights

children's shoes

4. To form the possessive of plural nouns ending with "s" add only an apostrophe:

girls' dresses

the Joneses' front porch

three days' pay

in twelve months' time

wrens' nests

the bosses' secretaries

Don't be confused by the plural form of Jones. If your surname is Jones and mine is too, we are the Joneses. (The possessive singular of Jones, of course, is Jones's, as in Tom Jones's horse.)

5. To form the possessive of compound words, add 's to the last word only:

my mother-in-law's garden

somebody else's problem

the president-elect's funds

Sam and Janet's wedding

6. Reminder: Possessive pronouns have no apostrophe:

hers, yours, theirs, whose, its (the cat lost its tongue), yours.

Finally, keep in mind that the use of the apostrophe is not the only way, or always the best way, to indicate possession. Instead of an hour's pay, for example, one may write pay for an hour or even hourly pay, depending on whichever form is most precise or most appropriate.

No word in the English language causes as many mistakes as the pronoun it.

Its = possession It's = it is The cat licked its paws; the dog wagged its tail; the bird sang its song.

It's (it is) fun to be surrounded by animals.

If you remember that none of the possessive pronouns (ours, yours, its, whose, his, hers, theirs) uses an apostrophe to indicate possession, then perhaps you won't be among those who have made the mistake of using an apostrophe when it's (it is) not needed. Is that ski parka yours or hers? Whose hat is on the table? The horse broke its bit. Paul said the mittens were his.

APOSTROPHES FOR POSSESSION

Change the following sentences, using apostrophes if necessary, to indicate possession. For example, "the house of my father" becomes "my father's house."

1. If you don't want the sweater, I'll give it to the son of my friend.

2. Take the westbound train to the birthplace of Shakespeare.

3. The passport of Fitzworter hung around his neck.

4. He'd enjoy the movie if you didn't tell the ending of it.

5. Antonio feared the wrath of his brothers.

6. Antonio also feared the wrath of his mother.

7. Her delight evident, Cleo held fast to the reins of the horse.

8. The binder of the tutor couldn't be found anywhere.

9. The family looked for the lost cat in the treehouse of the children.

10. Penny was unfamiliar with the titles of the books.

11. When Peter read the story, he didn't understand the plot of it.

12. We will celebrate the birthday of my son next week.

13. Please put the flowers on the desk of my boss.

14. The backpack of the student was jammed with books.

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