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Apostrophes Name ______________________
Five Steps in Using the Apostrophe Correctly
1. Look for possessive construction. Usually two nouns appear together. The first
noun shows ownership of, or a special relationship to, the second noun.
2. Reverse the nouns using a prepositional phrase. Examine the ownership word.
Does it end in an "s" sound?
car of the girl (ownership word, girl, does not end in an "s" sound)
3. It the ownership word does NOT end in an "s" sound, add an apostrophe and
"s."
car of the girl (ownership word does not end in an "s") = girl's car
4. If the ownership word DOES end in an "s" sound, usually add only an
apostrophe.
5. If an extra syllable can be easily pronounced in the possessive form, add an
apostrophe and "s" to singular nouns. Relatively few words fall in this category.
Try your skill in making words possessive in the following. Write the correct form in the
space provided. Write C if the sentence is correct.
1. We must answer this customers e-mail immediately. _______________
2. Is Tylers report ready to be submitted? _______________
3. In six months time you will have forgotten about this event. _______________
4. Some customers felt they didn't get their moneys worth. _______________
8. The goal of the IRS is to simplify all taxpayers returns. _______________
9. Passengers concerns about cell phone use on planes is valid. _______________
10. Every passengers luggage must be X-rayed, and some bags
will be opened. ________________
Key
1. customer's (e-mail of this customer)
2. Tyler's (report of Tyler)
3. months' (time of six months). Notice that ownership word ends in "s."
4. money's (worth of their money). No apostrophe is needed for the plural word
"customers."
5. months' (rent of two months). No apostrophe is needed for the plural word
"applicants."
6. company's policy (policy of our company)
7. C. The words "depositors" and "accounts" end in "s," but they are merely plural
nouns. They do not show possession. We do not see two nouns together.
8. taxpayers' (returns of taxpayers)
9. Passengers' (concerns of passengers)
