1. Apostrophes Quotation Marks Commas Colons
EOC Cram: Punctuation
Apostrophes
Quotation Marks
Commas
Colons

2. Apostrophes: The comma in the sky!
Use apostrophes to show possession
Singular nouns & indefinite pronouns
somebody’s hat no one’s ticket
a child’s toy Peru’s ocean
Ray Charles’s music lynx’s habitat
bus’s muffler Daris’s cupcake

3. Apostrophes: No-no’s!
Never use apostrophes with personal possessive pronouns.
its engine
whose mail
The responsibility is theirs.
The car is ours.
The rewards are yours.

4. Apostrophes + Plural Words
Plural words that already end in –s, just end with the apostrophe.
the Girl Scouts’ badge teachers’ cars
Add an –s + an apostrophe if the plural word doesn’t have one.
children’s surprise her teeth’s crown
women’s decision his feet’s arches

5. Apostrophes + Big Words
Put the apostrophe on the last word in a compound noun.
my sister-in-law’s computer
the foster child’s happiness
my great-grandfather’s watch
my pen pal’s photograph

6. Apostrophes: Together?
If something is possessed by both people…use the apostrophe for the last name used.
my father and mother’s house
Lord and Taylor’s department store
Procter and Gamble’s products

7. Apostrophes: Separate?
If the people possess something individually, each person gets and apostrophe.
Julie’s and Emma’s test scores
the Murphy’s and Locklear’s houses

8. Apostrophes: Contractions
Use an apostrophe to combine two words into one.
TIP: Always break down a contraction on the EOC.
ALWAYS!
You’re
You are
Who’s
Who is
Who has
It’s
It is
It has
Can’t
cannot

9. Apostrophes: ‘Twas a good year
Use an apostrophe in the missing numbers of a year.
Class of ’12
the summer of ’62
the ’08 election

10. Quotation Marks: QM Use quotation marks for direct quotes.
Only put QM around what comes out of the person’s mouth.
She says, “You are such a doll!”
Use a comma to separate the quote from the rest of the sentence.