BONUS: History of the possessive apostrophe | The Apostrophe | Punctuation | Khan Academy

In Old English, what was the common possessive ending for singular masculine and neuter nouns?

• -a

• -e

• -es

• -s

What major historical event led to the simplification of Old English case endings?

• The Renaissance

• The Black Death

• The Norman Invasion

• The Industrial Revolution

After the Norman Invasion, which Old English possessive ending became the standard for most nouns in Middle English?

• -a

• -e

• -es

• -s

What was the 'his possessive' construction that appeared in English around the late 16th and early 17th centuries?

• The king's hat

• The hat of the king

• The king his hat

• The king hat

Before the modern apostrophe-s ('s) became common, how was possession often shown in English?

• By using the word 'of' before the noun

• By adding 'his' after the noun

• By placing the noun at the end of the sentence

• By changing the noun's spelling completely

What concept explains why languages tend to simplify and shorten words or phrases over time?

• The rule of grammar

• The principle of least effort

• The influence of dictionaries

• The desire for formality

How is the possessive form of a singular noun typically created in modern English?

• By adding an 's' at the end

• By adding an apostrophe after the noun

• By adding an apostrophe and an 's' ('s) to the noun

• By changing the word order

In Dutch, for words ending in a vowel, how is the plural form often indicated?

• By adding '-en' to the end

• By adding an apostrophe before the 's'

• By simply repeating the word

• By changing the vowel sound