#Punctuation

I enjoy receiving newsletters from various sources. Editing is an important part of writing so it seemed worth while to share some tips in the latest edition of the newsletter from www.EzineArticles.com. What you write is "out there" forever. Edit carefully.

Here are some reminders of correct grammar:

Possession

The apostrophe is used when indicating ownership. For example:

• Singular Nouns: "Fred's house is around the corner."
• Indefinite Pronouns: "That's someone else's gum."
• Compound Nouns: The Duchess of Cambridge's hats are made by a milliner.
• Hyphenated Nouns: Her mother-in-law's car was due for maintenance.
• Two or More Nouns (Share Possession): Lenny and George's store is closed.
• Two or More Nouns (Don't Share Possession): They washed Bob's and Sue's pants.
• Plural Nouns (End in S): The gorillas' habitat has a lot of vegetation.
• Plural Nouns: The children's toys were all over the floor.

Additional possession and plural tips to bear in mind:

• Don't use an apostrophe with pronominal possessives: "'Are these cupcakes yours, hers, theirs, ours, or its?' she asked as she pointed to the dog."
• Don't use an apostrophe to show the plural of proper nouns: "The Smiths are coming over for dinner."
• Idiomatic or special expressions, e.g. "my heart's desire," "a year's wages," etc., are often written with an apostrophe s.

Contractions

In contractions, an apostrophe is used when omitting a letter (or letters). For example:

• "It's a lovely day." vs. "It is a lovely day."
• "Don't touch the hot stove." vs. "Do not touch the hot stove."
• "You're the wizard?" vs. "You are the wizard?"
• "I should've gone to sleep." vs. "I should have gone to sleep."

Tip: If you choose to use contractions in your articles, don't mix and match, e.g. "I could have used contractions in my article, but could've, should have, would've."

Denise

www.inktreemarketing.com

www.publishacookbook.com