Apostrophes and Hyphens By Kayla Kelly and Taylor Cuddy Pages and

Apostrophes Possessive nouns usually indicate ownership Ex. The boy’s hat Ex. Mr. Chang’s fanny pack Although names ending in s or an s sound are not required to have the second s added in possessive form, it is preferred. Ex. Mr. Jones’s golf clubs Ex. Texas’s weather

If the noun is plural and ends in S, add only the apostrophe. Ex. Pens’ caps Ex. Both diplomats’ briefcases were filled with money. Ex. The Changs’ house. Ex. The test scores of the Alma college students’ were the best

To show, use ‘s or s’ with only the last noun. This shows individual possession and makes all nouns possessive. Ex. Have you see Liz and Mary’s new car? -Liz and Mary jointly own the car. Ex. Hernando’s and Kayla’s idea of Spanish class couldn’t have been more different. -Hernando and Kayla both have individual ideas.

Compound if a noun is compound, use ‘s with the last element. Ex. Her father-in-law’s body won first place. Indefinite pronouns indefinite pronouns refer to no specific person or thing: everyone, someone, no one, something Ex. Someone’s dog pooped in my yard. Ex. Everyone’s money must be in on time.

In contractions, the apostrophe takes the place of missing letters. Ex. Don’t Ex. Isn‘t Ex. You’re right! Ex. She’s a great teacher. Ex. Class of ‘13

Plural Numbers take out the apostrophe in the plural of all numbers. Ex. The 1920s was a fun time. Plural letters Ex. Two large (Js or J’s) were painted on the floor. Plural abbreviations Do not use apostrophe to abbreviate Ex. She earned both of her PhDs before she was a mother. Plural of words mentioned as words Ex. We have heard many maybes

Do not use a comma in the following ways… With nouns that are not possessive Ex. Some outpatient’s are given sexy doctors. some outpatients are given sexy doctors. In the possessive pronouns: its, whose, his, hers, ours, yours, and theirs. Ex. Each mall has it’s own parking lot. Each mall has its own parking lot. -it’s means it is

Hyphen Used in Compound Words, numbers, and breaks. – Compound words Check with a dictionary Ex. Well-Respected, Ex-wife, Right-handed, Merry-go- round, So-called, Grown-up.

Compound Rules Connects 2 or more words functioning together as an adjective before a noun. – That is a well-read man. Nouns and Proper nouns do not use them – Ex. South Africa Has to be the same idea – Ex. Smart little girl (smart and little are not the same idea. Smart does not modify little)

Numbers in words Write out and use hyphens when writing numbers from 21 to 99 – Sixty-two, twenty-four, eighty-seven, fifty-three

Prefixes Use hyphens with Prefixes like all-, ex-, self-, and the suffix –elect. – She had high selfrespect – She had high self-respect – My exhusband came home today – My ex-husband went to an A.A. meeting

Avoiding Awkwardness Hyphens are used in some words to avoid ambiguity or to separate awkward double or triple letters. – Re-Cover and recover – Re-treat and retreat Different meanings – Anti-imperialistic – Bell-like – Semi-independent All would have repeated letters

Dividing At Ends of Lines If a word must divide at the end of a line, divide correctly. – Never divide a one syllable word We went to the store. We bought some puppies it w- as great. (WRONG) – Divide between syllables As the snow was falling, I decided that I missed Win- ter.

Dividing Continued Never divide a word so a single letter stands alone. Don’t divide with fewer than 3 letters when beginning a new line. – We went upstairs as we a- waited his answer. (Wrong) – We went upstairs as we awaited his answer. (Correct)

Final Dividing If you divide a compound word at the end of a line, either make the break between the words that form the compound or put the whole word on the next line. – I met my best friend Anna when I was 3. Re-creat- ing old memories is one of our favorite things to do. (wrong!) – I met my best friend Anna when I was 3. Re- creating old memories is one of our favorite things to do