QTS Literacy Skills Test Support for punctuation www.steveslearning.com

Apostrophes They have two main roles They show the omission of letters They show possession www.steveslearning.com

Apostrophes 2 The omission of letters Extreme apostrophe .. Hallowe’en - All Hallows’ Eve Bo’s’n – boatswain Wouldn’t - would not Couldn’t - could not I’ll - I will He’ll - he will We’re - we are They’re - they are www.steveslearning.com

Apostrophe of possession To show possession Apostrophe before the s singular The boy’s coat – one boy, his coat The cat’s tail – one cat, its own tail Apostrophe after the s plural The boys’ coats – several boys, each with a coat The cats’ tails – several cats, each with a tail www.steveslearning.com

Apostrophes – test yourself Place the apostrophes in these sentences All the pupils pupils were dilated One of the pupils pupils was dilated Both of the pupils pupils were dilated Both of the pupils had dilated pupils All the pupils’ pupils were dilated One of the pupil’s pupils was dilated Both of the pupils’ pupils were dilated Both of the pupils had dilated pupils www.steveslearning.com

Replace the missing commas There is an old German fable about porcupines who need to huddle together for warmth but are in danger of hurting each other with their spines. When they find the optimum distance to share each others warmth without putting each others eyes out their state of contrived cooperation is called good manners. Well, those old German fabulists certainly knew a thing or two. When you acknowledge other people politely, the signal goes out Im here. Youre there. Im staying here. Youre staying there. Arent we both glad we sorted that out When people dont acknowledge each other politely, the lesson from the porcupine fable is unmistakeable. Freeze or get stabbed, mate. Its your choice.  Lynne Truss  From Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door www.steveslearning.com

Speech marks- revision Example 1 hurry up he shouted she asked am I late "Hurry up!" he shouted. She asked, "Am I late?" Example 2 im coming home late tonight she said and added dont expect me before 11 "I'm coming home late tonight," she said and added, "don't expect me before 11." www.steveslearning.com