Apostrophes

A contraction is a word that’s made by combining two different words and removing some letters. When you combine words, you put them together. Removing letters means taking the letters out and getting rid of them. When you make a contraction, you create a word that’s smaller in length. It’s a shorter way of saying what you want to say! Instead of saying “we are,” you can say “we’re.” Instead of saying “could have,” you can say “could’ve.”

According to the text, what happens when you make a contraction?

• You create a word that is smaller in length.

• You put two words together and add more letters.

• You say something using more words.

An apostrophe is a punctuation mark that shows that letters are missing. How do you know where to put an apostrophe in a contraction? You put it in place of the letters you took out. You replace the missing letters with the apostrophe. To make a contraction from we + are, put an apostrophe in place of the “a” you took out. You make the contraction we’re.

The contraction for they + are is they’re. Which letter or letters in “they are” does the apostrophe replace?

• y and a

• y

• a

When you combine two words to make a contraction, you usually take out letters from the second word. You don’t take out any letters from the first word. To make a contraction from do + not you take the “o” out of “not.” You don’t take out any letters from “do.”

There’s an exception to this rule! To make a contraction from will + not, you take out the “o” from “not” and the “ill” from “will.” You put an “o” in place of the “ill.” The contraction for will + not is won’t. It is not “willn’t.”

Choose the sentence that uses the correct contraction for will + not.

• I willn’t eat these frozen peas because they are still cold.

• You willnot believe what’s going to happen once the party starts.

• I won’t be able to go until I finish reading this book.

To make contractions when not is the second word, you usually remove the “o” and replace it with an apostrophe. Here are some examples of contractions with not:

are + not → aren’t could + not → couldn’t did + not → didn’t does + not → doesn’t have + not → haven’t is + not → isn’t should + not → shouldn’t was + not → wasn’t

Find the error in the contraction for did + not in the sentence below.

Lezley didnot make pancakes.

• There should be an apostrophe after the “t.”

• The “o” should be replaced with an apostrophe.

• The letters “n” and “t” should be replaced with an apostrophe.

To make contractions when will is the second word, remove the “wi.” Replace these letters with an apostrophe. Here are some examples of contractions with will:

I + will → I’ll it + will → it’ll he + will → he’ll she + will → she’ll they + will → they’ll we + will → we’ll you + will → you’ll

Choose the correct contraction for who + will.

• whowill

• whow’ll

• who’ll

Nouns are words that name people, places, ideas and things. Nouns can own, or possess, things. A noun that owns something is called a possessive noun. A possessive noun needs a punctuation mark called an apostrophe. It looks like this: ’. The apostrophe shows that the noun owns something.

Which word in the sentence below is a possessive noun?

I found some old photos in the boxes in my aunt’s attic.

• photos

• boxes

• aunt's

• attic

Apostrophes, and where you put them, are important. Each of these statements means something different:

The books on the shelf are my teachers.

The books on that shelf are my teacher’s.

The books on that shelf are my teachers’.

Where you put the apostrophe depends on if the noun is singular or plural. Singular nouns name one person, place, thing or idea. Plural nouns name more than one person, place, thing or idea. Many plural nouns end in "s" or "es."

Which word in the sentence below is a plural noun?

My two dogs love to run around the yard and play with the beach ball and pool noodle.

• noodle

• dogs

• yard

• ball

To make a singular noun possessive, add apostrophe "s" (’s) to the end of the noun that owns or has something. “The paw of the cat” can become “the cat’s paw.” If a noun is pluraland ends in an "s," just add an apostrophe to the end of the noun that owns or has something. “The notebook of the girls” can become “the girls’ notebook.” If a noun is plural and does not end in an "s," add apostrophe "s" to the end of the noun that owns or has something. “The jackets of the children” can become “the children’s jackets.” It doesn’t matter whether the noun that is owned by the possessive noun is singular or plural. All that matters is if the owner is one or more!

Rewrite the sentence below so that it includes the correct possessive form for “uncles.”

The shoes belonging to my three uncles are always dirty.

• My three uncle’s shoes are always dirty.

• My three uncles shoes’ are always dirty.

• My three uncles’s shoes are always dirty.

• My three uncles’s shoes are always dirty.

There is an exception to these rules: If a singular noun ends in "s," you have a choice. You can either add apostrophe "s," or you can just add an apostrophe. It’s a matter of style, not grammar. Some people might think “the boss’s scarf” looks weird.

Which of these sentences contains a correctly formed possessive form of the name Andres?

• Andres strawberries are already ripe.

• Andres’ strawberries are already ripe.

• Andre’s strawberries are already ripe.

• Andres” strawberries are already ripe.

The rules for possessive nouns do not apply to pronouns. Pronouns are words like “he,” “you” and “it.” They can take the place of nouns in a sentence. Pronouns don’t need apostrophes to show possession. Pronouns like “her,” “their,” “its,” “my” and “theirs” have possession built right in. “It’s” does not mean “belonging to it”; “it’s” means “it is.” “They’re” does not mean “belonging to them”; “they’re” means “they are.”

Fill in the blank in the sentence below.

I tried to find ________ lost penguin pajamas, but it seemed those pajamas were gone for good.

• their

• their's

• they're

• it's