The apostrophe with numbers, letters, and abbreviations. This handy workbook is ideal for teachers, students in middle school through college, esl students, homeschoolers, and professionals. Some style guides dont use the last s in this situation. The marking of the omission of one or more letters as in the contraction of do not to dont the marking of possessive case of nouns as in the eagles feathers, or in one months time. Thanks to library lady jane for all her help in writing these grammar guides over the years. It is used to show when one noun possesses another noun. To form the possessive of a singular noun that does not end in s or an s sound, add an apostrophe plus s to the noun. Some of the most basic and important english grammar rules relate directly to sentence structure. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Apostrophe english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. Apostrophe english grammar today cambridge dictionary.
The apostrophe is needed here to show plural possessive. If there are more than one errors, separate corrected words with a space and a hyphen as in the examples. See rules 1b and 1c of apostrophes for more discussion. However, if one of the joint owners is written as a pronoun, use the possessive form for both. Most newspapers and magazines drop theoxford comma in a simple. We know the lemons belong to mary because of the s. The blue book of grammar and punctuation by jane straus. In general, use the active voice cats eat fish in preference to the passive voice fish are eaten by cats. The plurals for capital letters and numbers used as nouns are not formed with apostrophes. Valuable for anyone who takes tests or writes reports, letters, web pages, emails, or blogs, the. The blue book of grammar and punctuation is filled with easytounderstand rules, realworld examples, dozens of reproducible exercises, and pre and posttests. All it takes is the blue book of grammar and punctuation. May 27, 2019 use an apostrophe to indicate ownership by a proper noun. The problem nearly always seems to stem from not understanding that the apostrophe has two very different and very important uses in english.
Esl vocabulary and grammar apps for mobile and tablets learn on the go. The apostrophe or character is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the latin alphabet and some other alphabets. Written without jargon for all of us who need simple answers to our everyday questions, this new, updated version has 50% more materialrules, exercises, tests, and answersand a new cover that is both sleek and durable. Jan 01, 1997 the blue book of grammar and punctuation is filled with easytounderstand rules, realworld examples, dozens of reproducible exercises, and pre and posttests. The apostrophe probably causes more grief than all of the other punctuation marks put together. The blue book of grammar and punctuation 11th edition. We use apostrophes to write about oprahs new recommendation, j.
An easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes by jane straus. The blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to english grammar, punctuation, and usage. Its no accident that a semicolon is a period atop a comma. The blue book of grammar and punctuation will amuse you while demystifying the rules of grammar and punctuation. Start studying the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. Other examples include chinas foreign policy and the orchestras.
The blue book of grammar and punctuation by jane straus the authority on english grammar. To show possession with a singular noun, add an apostrophe plus the letter s. An apostrophe is a mark of punctuation used to identify a noun in the possessive case or indicate the omission of one or more letters from a word. With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make nouns plural. See the entire contents of the blue book of grammar and punctuation. An indispensable tool for busy professionals, teachers, students, homeschool families, editors, writers, and proofreaders. Oct 29, 2015 when you consider apostrophes, the first word that probably comes to mind is possessive because our gradeschool teachers taught us that apostrophes make things possessivemore specifically, apostrophes make nouns possessive. This lesson shows you how to use apostrophes correctly.
Its extremely well organized, ensuring that readers can quickly locate a required topic. Sometimes, its called the grocers apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements 3 oranges for a dollar. A revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide the blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining. There are conflicting policies and theories about how to show possession when writing such nouns. The right way to use an apostrophe in illustrated form. If you would like a regular serving of grammarrelated awesomeness every day. Apostrophes quiz 1 from the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Most newspapers and magazines drop theoxford comma in a simple series, apparently feeling its unnecessary. Rules, policies, and judgment calls grammar and punctuation. She may have purchased it herself or received it as a gift, but it. When one of the coowners is written as a pronoun, use possessive adjectives my, your, her, our, their. The apostrophe may be the most abused punctuation mark in the english language.
No one writing handbook or grammar guide should suffice for careful writers, and though jane strauss the blue book of grammar and punctuation is less comprehensive than some other resources, its largeformat workbook approach provides a readerfriendly introduction to the intricacies of proper prose straus was still a college student when she began her career as a writing consultant for. English grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. Lets look at the way sentences are put together and the words that form them. An apostrophe with an s after a proper noun indicates that the person, place or thing owns whatever noun follows his or her name. For each of the following, choose the correct sentence. Nov 04, 2010 the punctuation mark is called apostrophe.
Ive been a technical writer for about 7 years, and jane straus the blue book of grammar and punctuation is the best reference ive found. The blue book of grammar and punctuation jane straus. To form the possessive of a singular noun that does end in s or an s sound, add an. To show singular possession of a name ending in s or z, some writers add just an apostrophe. Use an apostrophe to indicate ownership by a proper noun. Concepts are described in clear and simple phrases, and backed up with examples one would find in everyday language. There are hundreds of grammar rules but the basics refer to sentence structure and parts of speech, which are noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition and conjunction. Remembering jane straus may 18, 1954february 25, 2011 author of the original blue book of grammar and punctuation. English punctuation has always had two complementary aspects. Like commas, semicolons indicate an audible pauseslightly longer than a commas, but short of a periods full stop. The blue book of grammar and punctuation 11th edition pages.
Decide whether the apostrophe s is possessive s or it stands for hasis. The blue book of grammar and punctuation, eleventh edition. Among such rare grammar books is the one written by jane straus, named as the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Provided by alexa ranking, has ranked na in na and 1,423,788 on the world. Richard nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and english at georgia southern university and the author of several universitylevel grammar and composition textbooks. All the grammar, punctuation, and usage rules and examples on the website plus dozens of quizzes with answers.
The apostrophe in contractions the most common use of apostrophes in english is for contractions, where a noun. If you would like a regular serving of grammarrelated awesomeness every day, go follow her on twitter. Welsh uses the apostrophe to mark elision of the definite article yr the following a vowel a, e, i, o, u, y, or, in welsh, w, as in ir ty, to the house. When the last comma in a series comes before and or or after daughterinlaw in theabove example, it is known as the oxford comma. A revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide. Grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar and. The blue book of grammar and punctuation is filled with easytounderstand rules,realworld examples, dozens of reproducible exercises, and pre and posttests. Use an apostrophe to indicate a noun is possessive. Handbooks on english grammar are too numerous, yet few are written with keeping in mind the usual problems of students. It doesnt take a lifetime to master english grammar and punctuation.
The blue book of grammar and punctuation leans towards usage rules in cms along with other authoritative texts and does not attempt to conform to the ap. The blue book of grammar and punctuation flashcards quizlet. Semicolons the blue book of grammar and punctuation. This userfriendly resource includes simple explanations of grammar, punctuation, and usage. A quick glance at street signs, advertisements, and store marquees will demonstrate that almost no one seems to know how to use this mark properly. Many common nouns end in the letter s lens, cactus, bus, etc. Grammar rules the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Sometimes to indicate the structure of unusual words. Check your results by clicking on submit worksheet subject explanations. English rules the blue book of grammar and punctuation. With over 200,000 copies sold, this is one of the most highly trusted english language resources available. Use a comma to separate contrasting parts of a sentence.
For example, the associated press ap stylebook is a guide specific for news media and journalists while the chicago manual of style cms is used by many book publishers and writers. Punctuation in the english language helps the reader to understand a sentence through visual means other than just the letters of the alphabet. The apostrophe must not be used to indicate the possessive except although not mandatory when there is already an s, x or z present in the base form, as in lukas bok. Apostrophes quiz 1 the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Its a refresher for experts, a reference for lay people, and a lesson plan for teachers. Apostrophes the blue book of grammar and punctuation. The domain uses a commercial suffix and its servers are located in na with the ip number 192. Now in its tenth edition, the blue book is a masterpiece of clarity and usefulness. The blue book of grammar and punctuation succeeds at a rare feat.
1258 1189 305 1030 1205 197 634 390 1359 374 493 573 646 55 468 1477 613 1116 1018 1440 908 496 1110 1204 1086 1353 928 225 532 1528 304 1576 665 496 49 332 211 332 1076 1456 437 1098 818 648 1234