Distinguishing Plurals, Possessives, and Contractions

It can be easy to confuse plural nouns with possessive nouns because they sound the same. Dogs Dog’s

You MUST think about the meaning that you are trying to convey. Plural means more than 1. Just add an s. Possessive means something is owned. Add ‘s to most words.

The dog____ leash. The dog’s leash. TRY THESE SAMPLES The leash belongs to the dog. The dog____ leash. The dog’s leash.

More than one car. I ran between the car___. I ran between the cars.

Question #1 When do you add an s to a noun? When it is possessive. b. When it is plural. c. When it is a pronoun. d. When it is proper.

Question #2 When do you add ‘s to a noun? a. When it makes it look right. b. When there is more than one. c. When a word ends in ch, sh, or th. d. When you want to show owner- ship.

Question #3 How do I write the word that means that a lady owns her purse. Lady’es purse Lady’s purse Ladys’ purse Ladies’ purse

But wait! There’s more!

Contractions can add to this confusion. Contractions that replace the word “is” can add to this confusion. Words like There’s (there + is = there’s) Jim’s (Jim + is = Jim’s)

So contractions are another reason you might add ‘s.

Question #4 Identify the underlined noun in the following sentence. Dogs are a man’s best friend. a. possessive b. contraction c. plural d. All of the above

Question #5 Identify the underlined noun in the following sentence. Dogs are a man’s best friend. a. possessive b. contraction c. plural d. All of the above

Question #6 Identify the underlined noun in the following sentence. Where’s my dog? a. possessive b. contraction c. plural d. All of the above

Assignment *Worksheet 10 -Exercises 1 & 2