Noun and Apostrophe

19. Sherly llrst asked about salary next she inquired about benefits. 20. Sherry first asked about the salary and she next inquirecl about benefits.

l. screens; consequently, (2.16a) l. c:olors: Olympic red. metallic silver, (2.01, 2.17a) 5. Doogan, Alicia Creen, (2.01,2.17b1 7. California; therefore, (2.16a,) t). interviews: January 15, February l, (2.01.2.17a) ll. ranges; (2.16b) 13. today, fee; moreover, (2.O6a,Z.l6a) 15. Department, Human Resouroes Department, (2.01,2.17b) 17. Portland, oregon; New orleans, Louisiana; phoenix, (2.l6cl) 19. salary; (2.16b)

Apostroph as (2.2A -2,221 2.20 Basie Hule. The apostrophe is used to show ownership, origin, authorship, or measu[ement.

Ownership: We are looking for Brian's keys. Origin: At the president's sut:gestioll, we doubled the order. Authorship: The accountanl's annual report was questionecl. Measurement: In two 1,sq75' timewe expect to reach our goal. a. Ownership words not ending in s. To place the apostrophe correctly, you must

first determine whether the ownership word ends in an s sound. If it does not, add an apostrophe and an s to the ownership word. The following examples show ownership words that do not end in an s sound:

b. ownership words ending in s. If the ownership word does end in an s sound, usually add only an apostrophe:

the employee's file a member's address

a year's time

a month's notice

the company's building

several employees' files

ten members'addresses

five years' time

(the file of a single employee) (the address of a single member) (the time of a single year) (notice of a single month) (the building of a single company)

(files of several employees) (addresses of ten rnembers) (time of five years)

several months'notice (notioe of several months) many companies' buildings (buildings of many companies)

A few singular nouns that end in .r are pronounced with an extra syllable when they become possessive. To these words, add '.1:

my boss's desk the waitress's table the actress's costume Use no apostrophe if a noun is merely plural, not possessive;

All the salcs representatives, as well as the assistants and managers, had thcir names and telephone numbers listed in the directory.

?'21 Namcs f;ndimg in s *lr en s ssund. The possessive form of names ending in .r or an,r sound follows the same guidelines as for common nouns. If an extra syllable can be pronounced without difficulty, add 's . If the extra syllable is hard to pronounce, end with an apostrophe only.

Add apostrophe and s Russ's computer

Bill Gates's business Mts. Jones's home Mr. Lopez's desk

Add apostrophe only New Orleans'cuisine

Los Angeles'fieeways

the Morrises'family the Lopezes'pool

Grammar/Mechanics Handbook

lndividual prel'erences in pronunciation may cause variation in a f-ew cases. For example, some people may plel'er not to pronounae an extra J in examples such as Bill Gates' business. However, the possessive form of plural names is con- sistent: the Joneses' home, the Burgesses' children, tlrc Bttshes' crlr Notice that the article the is a clue in determining whether a name is singular or plurai.

?.?2 6erunds, Use '.r to make a noun possessive when it precedes a gerund, a verb forrn used as a noun:

Mr. Smith's smoking prompted a new offrce policy. (Mr. Smithis possessive because it modifies the gerund smttking.)

It was Betsy's careful proofreading that revealed the discrepancy.

Review Exercise K-Apostrophes Insert necessary apostrophes and corrections in the lbllowing sentences. In the space provided for each sentence, write the corrected word. lf none wete cor- rected, write C. When you tinish, compare your responses with those provided. For each item on which you need review, consult the numbered principle shown in parentheses.

L In five years time, Lisa hopes to repay all of her student loans. 2. If you go to the third floor, you will find Mr. Londons oflice. 3. All the employees personnel folders must be updated. 4. h a little over a years time, that firm was able to double its sales. 5. The Harrises daughter lived in Florida fbr two years.

6. A patent protects an inventors invention for l7 years. 7. Both oompanies headquarters will be movecl within the next six months. 8. That position requires at least two years experieuce.

9. Some of their assets could bc liquidated; theretbre, a few of the creditors received funds.

10. All secretaries workstations were equipped with lnternet access. I L The package of electronics parts arrived safely despite two weeks delay. 12. Many nurses believe that nurses notes are not admissable evidence.

13. According to Mr. Cortez latest proposal, all employees would receive an addi- tional holiday.

14. Many of our members names and addresses must be checked, 15. His supervisor frequently had to correct Jasks financial rcports.

16. We believe that this firms service is much better than that firms.

17. Mr. Jackson estimated that he spent a years profits in reorganizing his staff.

18. After paying six months rent, we were given ;r receipt.

19. The contraot is not valid without Mrs. Harriftignature. 20. It was Mr. Smiths signing of the oontract that made us happy.

L years' (2.20b) 3. en'rployees' (2.20b) 5. Harrises' (2.21) 7. r.:ompanies' (2.20b\ 9. C (2.20b) I l. weeks' (2.20b) 13. Cortez's (2.21) 15. Jack's (2.21) 17. year's (2.20a) 19. Harris's (2.21)

Cumulative Editing Quiz 5

Use proofreading marks (see Appendix B) to correct errors and omissions in the following sentences. A1l errors rnust be oorrected to reoeive credit for the sentence. Check with your instructor for the answers.

Grammar/Mechanics Handbook