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MASTER THE APOSTROPHE (’)—SEVEN RULES An apostrophe (') shows possession:
You can also use apostrophes to create special relationships between words: a night's sleep, two months' pay. Seven Rules for Using the Apostrophe Rule 1:Use the apostrophe to show possession; add -'s to a singular noun . Monrovia, Liberia's capital, was named after U.S. president James Monroe. Add -'s to a singular noun that ends in –-s or –-z, as long as doing so does not make the pronunciation of that noun awkward. If doing so creates awkwardness, add only the apostrophe.
Rule 2: Use the apostrophe to show possession; add only -' if the noun is plural and ends in /-s. The two countries’ borders were in dispute. Rule 3: Use the apostrophe to show joint possession in a series; add -'s only to the last noun. Groucho, Chico, and Harpo's films are still funny. Rule 4: Use the apostrophe to show individual possession in a series; add -'s to each noun. Boston's and San Francisco's waterfronts are interesting, but I prefer Seattle's. Rule 5: Use the apostrophe in contractions in place of omitted numbers or letters. She will graduate with the class of '99.
Rule 6: Use the apostrophe to form the possessive of a hyphenated word; add -'s after the last letter. Not:My mother-in-laws home Rule 7: Add an apostrophe to abbreviations and letters and numbers to make them plural. Syed received three A's and two B's as final grades.
Not:Hitler planned to conquer the nation's of Europe.
Not:Under Hitler, Germany sought it's place in the sun. |
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