APOSTROPHES

for possession

Take me to Part One, please

Take me to Part 2, please.

How this program works

• It’s important to be able to put in apostrophes automatically as you write, without having to stop to ‘work them out’; they need to be thoroughly learnt.

• We know that we can learn something in one session. But if it’s not backed up with repetition and spaced practice, it’s not likely to ‘stick’, so it’s not thoroughly learnt.

• For this reason, after you ‘ve learnt a section, you should go to the practice exercises. Do one a day over several days. They’re quite short! You’re also asked to teach someone or something else.

• If at any time you become unsure of what to do, come back to the program.

• By the way – after you’ve learnt what to do, you’ll see in the world around you lots of examples that do NOT follow the rules! Don’t worry – YOU will be the one who’s correct! Apostrophes are often wrongly used.

Do I HAVE to do this?• Yes, you do.

• When a sportsperson wants to learn to do something well, they practise the process again and again.

• If you’ve been neglecting your apostrophes, you are busily practising how to write incorrectly, again and again. And yes, apostrophes do matter, as they can be counted as errors in NCEA.

• So – you’ll have to be alert when you write, for occasions when you should be using an apostrophe.

• So here we go……

Here are the steps:

Write the owner (s)

Add an apostrophe.

Add s if it’s needed

The car of JohnTo write “Johns car” correctly

* Put the owner or owners.

John car

• Add the apostrophe. John’ car

* Add the s it needs.

John’s car.

The playground for the children.

* Write the owner or ownerschildren playground

* Add the apostrophechildren’ playground

* Add the s if needed.

children’s playground.

FAQ

• FORGET ALL THAT! THIS WAY IS SIMPLER.

•Isn’t there something about plurals, and s on the end, and the apostrophe coming after the s???

More examples.• The twins clothes

• Let’s imagine that we’re talking about JUST ONE of the twins. That twin owns clothes.

Who owns something?

The twin clothes

Add an apostrophe.

The twin’ clothes

Add the s that is needed.

The twin’s clothes.

And still more examples (they’re getting trickier now)

• Ladies have handbags

Step 1: Ladies handbagsStep 2: Ladies’ handbagsStep 3: Not needed. It sounds fine at step 2.

FAQ: Doesn’t Step 1 sound OK? Why can’t I stop at Step 1? Ans: It sounds OK – but it has to LOOK right and give you the right

information about who owns something.

It needs the apostrophe so you can SEE who the owners are.If you SAY “the lady’s handbags” it sounds the same as “the

ladies’ handbags”. You need to SEE the apostrophe to know if it’s one lady with handbags, or a few ladies with handbags.

Here’s another way to check on the owner (s)Use this one when you’re reading.

• What’s in front of the apostrophe, tells you who owns something.

• The boy’s team = the boy belongs to a team• The girls’ team = the girls have a team• The debaters’ contest = the contest is for debaters• The debater’s speech = a speech by one debater• The clock’s ticking = one clock ticks• The clocks’ ticking = two or more clocks, ticking.

Write these with the apostrophe. The answers are on the next slide.

1. The mother of boys

2. The father of children

3. The teachers have classes

4. The teacher has a favorite student

5. The secretary of the Prime Minister

6. The secretary shared by two businessmen

7. A plan made by a businessman

8. Miss Jones has a car

Answers:

1. The boys’ mother2. The children’s father3. The teachers’ classes4. The teacher’s favorite student5. The Prime Minister’s secretary6. The businessmen’s secretary7. The businessman’s plan8. Miss Jones’ car (or Miss Jones’s car)

Do you need to re-do your learning?

• If you didn’t get 8 out of 8 correct, go back. Work to understand where you made your mistake.

• Talk to yourself about the 3 steps for using an apostrophe.

• Can’t do it?

• Go back. Read. Talk to yourself. Memorise. • To return to the instructions, click here

So you got them correct?

Here’s some information about learning and memory.

To REMEMBER something you’ve learnt, you should repeat the learning within 24 hours, and again at the end of a week.

Without this “Spaced practice” you will probably forget what you have just learnt.

Good! You got this far!

•Tomorrow, teach what you’ve learnt to someone or something. It can be your baby brother, the cat, a pot plant, yourself in the mirror – anything! Use paper and pencil.This is an excellent way to ‘revise’. You have to formulate your thoughts and express them clearly. It shows if you really understand and remember.

•If you find it hard to teach someone or something, come back and thoughtfully work through the slides again, as far as this slide.

•Once you’re able to teach someone or something how to use apostrophes, do a Practice a day. There are 6 in your folder, with answers. Don’t be tempted to do more than one a day! The exercises are there to provide you with SPACED out PRACTICE, which is a very good way to get permanent learning.

• Remember this?

• After you’ve learnt what to do, you’ll see in the world around you lots of examples that do NOT follow the rules! Don’t worry – YOU will be the one who’s correct! Apostrophes are often wrongly used.

• Here are some examples!

Part 2

Welcome to Part 2.

• Please don’t go ahead if you’re not absolutely sure about Part 1. It’s more important to master Part 1 than Part 2.

Return to Part 1

Here are some less obvious examples. They’re less obvious because the owner or owners aren’t people.

• The information in the document – the document’s information• The philosophy at the school – the school’s philosophy• The popularity of the book – the book’s popularity• The power held by governments – governments’ power • The rules of society – society’s rules• The mission of the organisation – the organisation’s mission• The nationality of the competitors – the competitors’nationality• The rules of the game – the game’s rules• The excitement of the moment – a moment’s excitement• The atmosphere of the restaurant – the restaurant’s atmosphere

Does it help you to change the first step to• Write down who/what something belongs to?

There is a special case for time:

• In an hour’s time• In three seconds’ time• In six months’ time• At the year’s end• By Friday’s deadline• The accounts for December – December’s

accounts• Next week’s timetable• 2008’s diary

Click to stop ticking!

Now for some interesting examples!Read these thoughtfully, looking to see if it’s a case where “time”

applies, or an owner that isn’t very clear.

• The end of the exam – the exam’s end• The end of the month – the month’s end• The end of September – September’s end• The end of life – life’s end• The problem with old age - old age’s problem• The distribution of pamphlets – the pamphlets’

distribution• The purpose of taxation – taxation’s purpose.

Try these (the answers are on the next slide)

• The due date for the assessment• The increased rates of the council• The surface of the road• The nastiness of the weather• The depth of the pool• The menu for tomorrow• The questions in the survey• The loudness of the voice• The difficulty of the task• The weather that day.

Answers

• The assessment’s due date• The council’s increased rates• The road’s surface• The weather’s nastiness• The pool’s depth• Tomorrow’s menu• The survey’s questions• The voice’s loudness• The task’s difficulty• The day’s weather