IN English language There are a few distinctive features. One of them is the apostrophe. This small sign sometimes becomes a big problem for students, as many people confuse when to put an apostrophe and when not to.

Today we will understand its use once and for all. In the article you will learn:

• using an apostrophe to indicate ownership

What is an apostrophe in English?

Apostrophe is a superscript comma (").

Although we don't use this sign in Russian, I think you've probably seen it. Many foreign names are abbreviated with an apostrophe. For example: d'Artognan instead of de Artognan.

The apostrophe in English is used in 2 cases that can be easily remembered:

1. To show ownership

2. To indicate a gap when abbreviating words

Let's look at each of these use cases in detail.

Using an apostrophe to indicate ownership

We use an apostrophe to show the identity of an object/person. To do this we just need to add "s to the word that names the owner.

To test ourselves, we can ask questions to such a word: whose?, whose?, whose?, whose?. For example: (whose?) Tom’s computer, (whose?) sister’s dress, (whose?) dog’s ball.

Examples of using apostrophe:

Give me Ann 's copybook.
Give me Anna's notebook.

This is my parent "s car.
This is my parents' car.

I took my friend 's phone.
I took a friend's phone.

Books lie on teacher ’ s desk.
The books are on the teacher's desk.

Hey his sister 's cookies.
He ate his sister's cookies.

When else is an apostrophe used in English?

There are also several nuances to this rule that you need to remember:

1. Owners are multiple people/animals.

In this case, to the word that denotes them (it will be plural), we simply add an apostrophe (") without the letter s . After all, we have already added the ending -s to such words to form the plural form (cat - cats - cats", girl - girls - girls", sister - sisters - sisters", friend - friends - friends").

However, if the word is not formed according to the rules (you can read about such exceptions), then we add "s:

2. Two owners

For example: mother and father, Tom and Peter, Mary and Jane.

There are two options for adding an apostrophe here.

• One item belongs to two people

We add "s to last word: mother and father's, Tom and Peter's, Mary and Jane's

Mother and father "s car stays in garage.
Mom and dad's car is in the garage. (We are talking about one car that belongs to two people)

Tom and Mary "s house is big.
Tom and Mary's house is big. (We are talking about the same house owned by both Tom and Mary)

• Each owner has his own item that belongs to him

We add "s to each word: mother"s and father"s, Tom"s and Peter"s, Mary"s and Jane"s

Mother "s and father "s cars stay in garage.
Mom and dad's cars are in the garage. (We are talking about two cars: one belongs to mom, the other to dad)

Tom 's and Mary "s houses are big.
Tom and Mary's houses are large. (We are talking about two different houses that have different owners)

Apostrophe with possessive pronouns in English

We don't add "s to possessive pronouns (her/hers, your/yours, their/theirs), despite the fact that they answer the questions: whose?, whose?, whose?.

Incorrect: She lost her "s pen.
Correct: She lost her pen.

Using an apostrophe to shorten English words

In English we can abbreviate some words. In such cases, we put an apostrophe (") in place of missing letters.

Here are the main accepted abbreviations:

I am = I"m
You are = you're
He is = he's
I have = I've
I would = I'd
I will = I'll
not = n't

Examples:

He's studying now.
He is studying now.

We're ready.
We are ready.

I"m calling him.
I call him.

They can't leave.
They can't leave.

I'll translate.
I will translate.

So, an apostrophe is a sign in the form of a superscript comma ("). It is used to show ownership or for abbreviation. Now let's practice using it in practice.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. This is my friends' wedding.
2. Take Tom's car.
3. This is my dog's ball.
4. We will live in her parents' house.
5. Bring Kate and Peter's laptops.
6. He ate Dasha’s apple.
7. Peter's friends will arrive tomorrow.
8. John and Mary's phones are on the table.

Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

Probably each of us remembers standing at the chalk board during a lesson in the beautiful and powerful Russian language and, for some unknown reason, drawing an arc, a tick, or a square over a word. This whole entertaining process was pathetically called parsing a word into morphemes, namely: prefix, root, suffix and, of course, ending. Today we will talk about the latter, but only in English. There might be something you don't know!

Speaking purely in grammatical terms, the concept of “ending” ( ending) or the buzzword “inflection” ( inflexion) from the Latin “to bend” - to bind, refers to the variable part responsible for the process of forming different variations of the same word, to the basic form of which special elements are added. Through these manipulations it is expressed grammatical meanings, that is, the special role that a unit of speech plays in a sentence. The endings in English grammar include: possessive case (“ s); plural (- s / -es); present tense 3rd person + singular (- s); past tense (- d), (-ed) or (- t) and ending (- ing). Well, now in order.

Inflection ""s" in English

Possessive (possessive case) we use when we need to say that something belongs to someone. This very case is formed by adding a special sign to the end of the word “ " "apostrophe and endings" - s" Below are a few examples for clarity.

Ending -s / -es / -ies in English

First, the simple present tense, known to everyone as Present Simple. It is used when we talk about some facts or ordinary actions.
We form the present tense using the basic form of the infinitive (without the particle to). Golden Rule: third party in singular (he / she / it) just requires an ending - s / -es / -ies. For example:

Every morning Kelly eat s a sandwich with blueberry jam and peanut butter and drink s a mug of coffee for breakfast.
Every morning Kelly eats a sandwich with blueberry jam and peanut butter for breakfast and drinks a mug of coffee.

Secondly, when it is necessary to use a plural noun ( plural nouns), according to the rule of education plural to the singular form of a noun, depending on which letter is at the end, the ending is added - s / -es / -ies. For example:

Pumpkin, don't forget to buy 10 donut s, 5 orange s and 3 bananas s, please.
Pumpkin, please don't forget to buy 10 donuts, 5 oranges and 3 bananas.

Ending -ed / -ied / -d / -t in English

Firstly, the ending - ed inherent correct English verbs(regular verbs), which are used in Past Simple . As you know, the simple past tense is used to state a fact or describe a series of actions that immediately followed each other in the past. Education formula: verb(without to): bombinate ( buzz) + ed = bombed(buzzed). Example in context:

James got in the old clunker, started the engine and drove off.
James got into his wreck, started the engine and drove off.

Secondly, - ed also occurs in the past participle ( participle II). The participle is the golden mean, where the characteristics of a verb, adjective and adverb coexist comfortably, which answers the question “ what (c)did he?», « Which?" For example:

The quote, present ed in the article, caught my attention.
The quote presented in the article caught my attention.

The quote " which? or " what did she do?» — presented, i.e. the action seems to have already been completed - it has already been used in the article. The participle defines the subject in a sentence, supplementing it with new facts and characteristics.

The ending -ing in English

Firstly, the ing ending is used when constructing long English tenses Continuous = Progressive. For example:

Currently, my bearded mate is playing ing PS4.
IN this moment my bearded friend plays on PS4.

Here Present Continuous: auxiliary linking verb to be V in the required form+ infinitive of the semantic verb without to, but with the ending - ing. However, tenses that emphasize an action or state in the process also include Perfect Continuous = Perfect Progressive. For example:

A bearded mate of mine has been play ing PS4 for six hours already.
My bearded buddy has been playing on PS4 for 6 hours now.

Present Perfect Continuous: linking auxiliary verb to have in the required form + been + infinitive of the semantic verb (without to), but with the ending - ing.

Secondly, - ing also occurs in the present participle ( participle I), which answers a number of the following questions: “ Which?», « what is he doing?», « what are you doing?. Example:

That woman, chill ing on the sofa, is my future wifey.
That woman relaxing on the couch is my future wife.

We observe that the participle is formed by adding the ending - ing To basic verb form and introduces new features that are characteristic of the subject.

PARTICIPLE I
verb base + -ing
finagle + -ing = finagle ing

PARTICIPLE II
verb base + -ed
finagle + -ed = finagle ed

Thirdly, this same inflection is also used with the gerund ( gerund), a special form of the verb that behaves in a sentence as subject(subject), an object(predicate) or predicate(definition/circumstance). The gerund to some extent resembles a verbal noun, for this reason it can be translated into Russian as an infinitive, subordinate clause or noun. A few examples to illustrate:

My buddy’s favorite occupation is hang ing out with friends.
My friend's favorite pastime is hanging out with friends.

Well, to be honest, I’m not engrossed in pastel draw ing.
Well, to be honest, I'm not into pastel painting.

Types of English endings

Today we have put together the most common endings that are used everywhere in the English language. We hope that from now on you will have a complete picture of what an ending is, what it can be, exactly when and where it should be used. If there are not enough endings, then catch English suffixes for dessert. Yummy!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

The possessive case in English also has names Possessive Case or Genetive Case. If you want to say that something belongs to someone, you must use possessive. As a rule, the possessive case can only be used with animate nouns, but there are some exceptions,
which we will talk about below. By the way, I also have a wonderful one for testing knowledge on the possessive case. If you are looking for exercises on the possessive case -

In English, the possessive case is expressed by 's (apostrophe es) or simply " (apostrophe).

Prince’s duty - the duty of (who? whose?) the prince;

Students’ books - textbooks of (whose? whose?) students.

As you may have noticed, it is convenient to translate phrases containing the possessive case from the end.

Formation of the possessive case in English.

only apostrophe (‘) in the following cases:

1. with plural nouns, if the plural is formed by adding the ending -S /-ES

• doctors’ advice – advice from doctors,
• boys' trains - boys' trains.

1. with Greek polysyllabic first and last names ending in –S

• Socrates' works - works of Socrates,
• Xerxes’ army – army of Xerxes.

1. With famous names ending in –S

• Yeats' poetry - Yeats's poetry,
• Burns'poems - poems by Burns

(however, some grammars allow a double spelling in this case: Dickens' novels or Dickens's novels).

To form the possessive case we will use only apostrophe es (‘s) in the following cases:

1. with singular nouns

• the girl’s eyes – the girl’s eyes,
• the Dad’s study – dad’s office.

1. With plural nouns, if the plural was not formed according to the rule of adding the ending -S / -ES.

• сhildren's games - children's games,
• women's wishes - women's wishes.

Pay attention to education possessive case of compound nouns. There is a difference here with the formation of the plural. Let's look at this point in more detail, since even very competent and knowledgeable people very often make mistakes on this issue. So let's look at the plate.

More examples:

The editor-in-chief’s order - order of the editor-in-chief

The commander-in-chief’s qualification – qualification of the commander-in-chief

The passer-by’s comment – ​​comment from a passerby

A special feature of the possessive case in English is the existence of the so-called group possessive case - group genitive. Group genitive denotes the phenomenon of adding "s or ' not to one noun, but to

• Group of nouns

Mum and dad's wish - the desire of mom and dad

• to a whole phrase containing a noun

the secretary of states’s private room – personal room of the Secretary of State

• to the group noun + pronoun

someone else’s benefit – someone’s benefit

• to a phrase with a numeral at the end

in an hour or two’s time - in an hour or two

Note. That in such cases "s or ' are added exclusively to the final element. The only time you should be careful is when we're talking about about belonging to several nouns.

We looked at the phrase mum and dad's wish - the desire of mom and dad. In this context, we are talking about the common desire of mom and dad. In this case, "s or ' is added to the final element. If the phrase were slightly different mum"s and dad's wishes in the meaning of the wishes of mom and dad (each has their own), then "s or ' would be added to each element.

So in the phrase Bach’s and Mozart’s music we add “s to each element, since Bach and Mozart do not have common music - it is different for everyone.

Cases of using the possessive case in English.

We do not have the right to use Possessive Case in English in the same way as we use in Russian. Sometimes membership relations need to be expressed using a phrase with of.

So, for example, we cannot say table's leg - the leg of the table, we must say - the leg of the table.

So when can you use the genetive case?

The possessive case in English is used:

• with nouns denoting people and animals

the swallow’s nest – swallow’s nest

Molly’s idea – Molly’s idea

• with words indicating time or distance

night’s rest – night rest

a month absence – month-long absence / month-long absence

a minute’s silence - minute silence

a mile’s distance – distance in a mile

Please note that with the words today, yesterday and tomorrow, both options for forming the possessive case are possible:

today's papers = the papers of today

• with names of countries and cities

Britain’s museums – museums of Britain

London's sights - sights of London

• with newspaper names

the Guardian's analysis

• with names of organizations and words company, firm, government, organization

the company’s plans - company plans

the Geographical Society’s gold medal – gold medal of the Geographical Society

• with the words world, country, nation, town, city

the nation’s wealth - the well-being of the nation

• with the words ship, boat, car

the car’s wheel – car wheel

• with the names of planets and satellites

the sun's rays - sun rays

• with some inanimate nouns in fixed expressions

Absolute genitive and double genitive

Absolute genitive

Typically, a construct containing a possessive case has the following structure:

Noun (numeral/pronoun) in the possessive case + noun

However, there are also cases when a noun in the possessive case is not followed by another noun. In such a case, we are dealing with absolute possessive case(Absolute genetive). It is used in several cases:

• to avoid repetition (tautology)

Our car is faster than Peter’s.

• after the preposition of

A friend of my mother’s, a cousin of my husband’s

• for names of stores, places and other establishments

At the butcher’s, at the baker’s, at Timothy’s, at my uncle’s

St. Paul's (Cathedral), St. James's (Palace)

Double genitive

It is rare to find a noun defined by two consecutive phrases in the possessive case:

• My mother’s father’s people – people of my mother’s father
• The boy’s half-hour’s run – a boy’s half-hour run

This phenomenon is called the double possessive case - Double Genitive.

An apostrophe joins verb forms and shows ownership of titles/names.

Fusion

An apostrophe often joins a subject to a verb (in a neutral-informal style) by replacing the first 1 or 2 letters of the forms am/is/has/have/them. It also splices the particle not in negative verbs.

I'vedoneit! - I did it!

Youcan'tturnlefthere – You can’t turn left here

Another increasingly popular fusion is letter replacement. g in informal ending – ing .

Will ya stop talkin', hah? - Youshut up, A?

Possession

‘ s is placed immediately after the owner of the next noun (group of nouns).

Jen'snewjobisexciting – exciting New job Jen encourages her

John's shirt is blue – ShirtJonah- blue

The men’s suits are black – Suitsthosemen- black

In regular plural possessives (already with - s) the apostrophe does not require extra in this case s. They are pronounced the same way as single possessives - just the apostrophe is moved one letter further.

The horse’s hay is damp – HayForhorsesgot wet

The horses’ hay is damp – HayForhorsesgot wet

However, to names with – s added at the end ‘ s with pronunciation.

It'sCharles'sbirthday – It's Charles' birthday

Control

With one possession by several owners, an apostrophe is placed only after the last one.

JohnandJen'shouse – John and Jen's house

With individual holdings, the apostrophe refers to each owner.

John’s and Jen’s houses are on the same street – HousesJonahAndJenare worthon1st street

English Joke

Benny is almost 32 years old. All his friends are now married, but Benny just dates and dates.
Finally, his friend asks him, “What’s the matter, Benny? Are you looking for the perfect woman? Are you really that fussy? Surely you can find someone who suits you?”
“No I just can’t,” Benny replies. “I meet many nice girls, but as soon as I bring them home to meet my parents, my mother doesn’t like them. So I keep on looking!”
“Listen,” his friend suggests, “why don’t you find a girl who’s just like your mother?”
Many weeks go by and again Benny and his friend get together.
“So, have you found the perfect girl? One that’s just like your mother?”
Benny shrugs his shoulders, “Yes, I found one just like mum.” Mum loved her right from the start and they have become good friends.”
“So, do I owe you a Mazel Tov? Are you and this girl engaged yet?”
“I'm afraid not. My father can’t stand her!”

The apostrophe is used in English for two reasons: to indicate contraction and to indicate ownership - something belongs to someone. The rules for using an apostrophe vary depending on the type of word. Apostrophes help make text clearer and shorter.

Steps

Part 1

Use an apostrophe after a proper name to indicate ownership. An apostrophe and an “s” after a proper name mean that that person, place, or thing owns what follows its name or title. For example, “Mary"s lemons" (Mary's lemons). We know that lemons belong to Mary thanks to the "s". Other examples: "China"s foreign policy" ( foreign policy China) and “the orchestra's conductor” (orchestra conductor).

• Attribution can be complex and there are exceptions. For example, the phrase “Sunday's football game” is technically incorrect (since Sunday cannot have anything), but in writing and spoken language it is absolutely acceptable. “A hard day's work” (hard work, literally “the work of a hard day”) is also an absolutely correct phrase, despite the fact that the day cannot own anything.

1. Be consistent in using an apostrophe after words ending in “s.” When someone's name ends in "s", it is possible to use an apostrophe without a subsequent "s" to indicate ownership, but the linguists at the Chicago Manual of Style, along with many others, prefer to use an "s" after the apostrophe.

   • Notice the difference in usage:
     • Acceptable: Jones" house (Jones house); Francis" window (Francis window); Enders" family (Enders family).
     • Preferably: Jones's house (Jones's house); Francis's window (Francis's window); Enders's family (Enders family).
   • Whatever style you prefer to use, stick with it. It doesn't matter which option you choose, it's important that you stick with it.

2. Do not use an apostrophe to indicate ownership with the pronoun "it".“China's foreign policy” is correct, but let's say the reader already knows that you are talking about China and you replace the name of the country with a pronoun. If you plan to indicate that something belongs to China in this way, you need say “its foreign policy” (his foreign policy), but not “it's”.

   • The reason is to avoid confusion between "its" (his, hers) used to indicate ownership and "it"s" used as a shorthand for "it is". If you are not sure whether to use an apostrophe or not, try Instead of “it"s / its”, substitute “it is” or “it has” into the sentence. If the phrase changes or loses its meaning, the apostrophe is not needed. For example, the phrase “it is foreign policy” cannot replace the phrase “China’s foreign policy” (China’s foreign policy), so write “its” without an apostrophe.

3. Use an apostrophe to indicate ownership when the noun is plural. One common mistake is using an apostrophe to indicate that something belongs to a family rather than to one person. Let's say the Smart family has a boat. To indicate the ownership of a boat, the apostrophe will be used as follows: “the Smarts" boat" (Smart's boat), and not "the Smart's boat" (Smart's boat). Since we are talking about all members of the Smart family, we put the last name in the plural, "Smarts." And since all Smarts (at least presumably) own a boat, we add an apostrophe after the "s".

   • If your last name ends in "s", make it plural before adding the apostrophe. For example, if you wanted to talk about the Williams family, the plural would be “the Williamses.” If you wanted to refer to their dog, you would say "the Williamses" dog. If you think this construction doesn't sound too smooth - especially with a more complex surname - you could say "the Williams family" ( Williams family) and “the Williams family's dog” (Williams family dog).
   • If you are listing all the owners of a particular object, know where to put the apostrophe. For example, if both John and Mary own a cat, you would write it as "John and Mary"s cat" rather than "John"s and Mary"s cat." "John and Mary" in In this case, they are a collective noun and therefore only need one apostrophe.

   Part 2

   Don't use an apostrophe to form plurals

   Part 3

   Use an apostrophe in abbreviations

   1. Using apostrophes in abbreviations. Sometimes, especially in informal writing, apostrophes are used to indicate that one or more letters in a letter are omitted. For example, the word “don"t” is an abbreviation of “do not”; similarly, “isn”t” (“is not”), “wouldn”t” (“would not”), and “can”t” (“cannot”) are formed. "). You can also shorten the verbs “is”, “has”, and “have”. For example, we can write “She"s going to school" instead of "She is going to school", "He"s lost the game" instead of "He has lost the game" or "They"ve gone away" instead of "They have gone away."

      Be careful with "its" and "it"s. Use an apostrophe with the word “it” only when you want to indicate the abbreviation “it is” or “it has.” "It" is a pronoun, and pronouns have their own possessive form, which does not require an apostrophe. For example: “That noise? It's just the dog eating its bone" (What's that noise? It's a dog gnawing on its bone). This may seem complicated, but "its" is formed in the same way as the others possessive pronouns: his (his), hers (her), its (his/her), yours (yours), ours (ours), theirs (theirs).

      If you write in cursive letters, always join the letters after the apostrophe to those before it. For example, if you want to write "she"s, first write "shes" together and then add an apostrophe.

   • When in doubt, always remember that apostrophes are almost always used with nouns to indicate ownership. Avoid using apostrophes for anything else.
   • In the case of a name ending in “s,” linguists from the Chicago Manual of Style recommend adding an “s” after the apostrophe: for example, “Charles’s bike.” If your teacher requires you to adhere to a particular rule, If there are no requirements, just choose the form you prefer, but be consistent and stick to the same form throughout the entire written work (essay, letter, etc.).
   • Book “The Elements of Style”, by W. Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White - convenient quick guide on spelling and punctuation. Try to find it on the Internet and use it when writing in English.