Dr. Prinsky

Engl. 1101

Quiz on Use and Misuse of the Apostrophe (NMHH, Ch. 61, plus pp. 536-537, 638, and 645)

Summary Tip 1: Apostrophes and Nouns

** Do not use the apostrophe to make the simple plural of a common noun: NOT “Down vest’s are warm”; RATHER: “Down vests are warm”

** Do not use the apostrophe for the simple plural of proper noun (especially family names or surnames): NOT “The Martin’s live in that house”; RATHER: “The Martins live in that house”

** DO use the apostrophe for institution or company names: NOT “Macys is my favorite place to shop for clothes”; RATHER: “Macy’s is my favorite place to shop for clothes”

Summary Tip 2: Apostrophes and Verbs

** Do not use the apostrophe for present-tense verbs: NOT “Uneasy lie’s the head that wears the crown”; RATHER: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”

** Be especially careful about the verb “let”; NOT: “The index of the composition handbook let’s users easily find material”; RATHER: “The index of the composition handbook lets users easily find material”

Summary Tip 3: Apostrophes and Pronouns

** Do not use the apostrophe for the personal pronouns, which have their own special possessive form (look up “personal pronoun” material in the composition handbook); be especially careful about first person plural (“our, ours”), second person singular or plural (“your, yours”), third person singular feminine (“her, hers”), third person neuter (“its”), and third person plural (“their, theirs”)

** Do not use the apostrophe for the relative or interrogative pronoun who (always whose, NOT who’s)

Tip 4: Avoid the redundant doubling of the possessive (sometimes called “the double genitive”)

NOT: “These are good tips of the book’s”; RATHER: “These are good tips of the book”

Exercise 61.2

1. 61.2#1 (“In the”) Which is correct: (a) it’s (b) its

2. 61.2#2 (“Emerson states”) Which is correct: (a) your (b) you’re

3. 61.2#3 (“(Who’s/Whose”) Which is correct: (a) Who’s (b) Whose

4. 61.2#4 (“Emerson believes”) Which is correct: (a) there (b) they’re (c) their

5. 61.2#5 (“According to”) Which is correct: (a) there (b) they’re (c) their

6. 61.2#6 (“Emerson also”) Which is correct: (a) it’s (b) its

Exercise 61.3

Divide up the paragraph as follows: (a) “Transcendentalism was” (b) “Emerson, a member” (c) “Most people” (d) “Altogether, one” (e) “With a new” (f) “In fact, one”

7. In (a), “1800s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “1800's”

8. In (a), “other’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “others’” (c) should be “others”

9. In (a), “who’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “whose”

10. In (a), “it’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “its’” (c) should be “its”

11. In (b), “New Englands’” (a) is correct as is (b) should be “New Englands” (c) should be “New England’s”

12. In (b), “notion’s” (a) is correct as is (b) should be “notions” (c) should be “notions’”

13. In (b), “todays’” (a) is correct as is (b) should be “todays” (c) should be “today’s”

14. In (c), “its” (a) is correct as is (b) should be “it’s” (c) should be “its’”

15. In (d), “Emerson’s” (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Emersons’” (c) should be “Emersons” (d) should be “Emerson”

16. In (d), “Thoreau’s” (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Thoreaus’” (c) should be “Thoreaus” (d) should be “Thoreau”

17. In (d), “Americans’” (a) is correct as is (b) should be “American’s” (c) should be “Americans”

18. In (e), “people’s” (a) is correct as is (b) should be “peoples’” (c) should be “peoples” (d) should be “people”

19. In (e), “they’re” (a) is correct as is (b) should be “theyre” (c) should be “their” (d) should be “there”

20. In (f), “Emerson’s” (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Emersons’” (c) should be “Emersons” (d) should be “Emerson”

21. In (f), “Thoreau’s” (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Thoreaus’” (c) should be “Thoreaus” (d) should be “Thoreau”

22. In (f), “idea’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “ideas’” (c) should be “ideas”

Read the following paragraph:

(a) The Corner Café sold a typical coffeehouses beverage’s, including several different espresso’s. (b) On the walls of the café were photo’s of the local soccer team and the teams mom’s. (c) The cafés decor reflected the late 1990s, sleek and jazzy. (d) With it’s sports trophies and open doors, the place reflected the neighborhoods various focuses. (e) No one knows how many cupfuls of coffee have been served there. (f) Many of yesterday’s soccer heroes think of themselves as the Corner Cafés alumni.

23. In sentence (a), the word “coffeehouses”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “coffeehouses’” (c) should be “coffeehouse’s”

24. In sentence (a), the word “beverage’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “beverages’” (c) should be “beverages”

25. In sentence (a), the word “espresso’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “espressos’” (c) should be “espressos” (d) should be “espresso”

26. In sentence (b) the word “walls”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “wall’s” (c) should be “walls’”

27. In sentence (b) the word “photo’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “photos’” (c) should be “photos” (d) should be “photo”

28. In sentence (b) the word “teams”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “team’s” (c) should be “teams’”(d) should be “team”

29. In sentence (b) the word “mom’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “moms’” (c) should be “moms” (d) should be “mom”

30. In sentence (c) the word “cafés”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “café’s” (c) should be “cafés’”

31. In sentence (c) the word “1990s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “1990's” (c) should be “1990”

32. In sentence (d) the word “it’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “its’” (c) should be “its” (d) should be “it”

33. In sentence (d) the word “trophies”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “trophie’s” (c) should be “trophies’” (d) should be “trophy’s”

34. In sentence (d) the word “neighborhoods”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “neighborhood’s” (c) should be “neighborhoods’” (d) should be “neighborhood”

35. In sentence (d) the word “focuses”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “focus’s” (c) should be “focuses’” (d) should be “focus”

36. In sentence (e) the word “knows”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “know’s” (c) should be “knows’” (d) should be “know”

37. In sentence (e) the word “cupfuls”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “cupful’s” (c) should be “cupfuls’” (d) should be “cupful”

38. In sentence (f) the word “yesterday’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “yesterdays’” (c) should be “yesterdays” (d) should be “yesterday”

39. In sentence (f) the word “heroes”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “hero’s” (c) should be “heros’” (d) should be “hero”

40. In sentence (f) the word “Cafés”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Café’s” (c) should be “Cafés’”

Read the following paragraph:

(a) A products manufacturer designs packaging to appeal to consumers emotions through color and design. (b) Marketing specialists know that peoples beliefs about a products quality are influenced by their emotional response to the designs of it’s package. (c) Circle’s and ovals appearing on a box’s design supposedly increase a product users feelings of comfort, while bold pattern’s and colors attract a shoppers attention. (d) Using both circle’s and bold designs in Arm & Hammers and Tide’s packaging produces both effects in consumer’s. (e) Heinz’s familiar ketchup bottle and Coca-Colas famous label achieve the same effects by combining a bright color with an old fashioned, “comfortable” design. <<S&Shb>>

41. In sentence (a) the word “products”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “product’s” (c) should be “products’”

42. In sentence (a) the word “designs”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “design’s” (c) should be “designs’” (d) should be “design”

43. In sentence (a) the word “consumers”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “consumer’s” (c) should be “consumers’”

44. In sentence (b) the word “peoples”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “people’s” (c) should be “peoples’” (d) should be “people”

45. In sentence (b) the word “beliefs”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “belief’s” (c) should be “beliefs’”

46. In sentence (b) the word “products”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be product’s (c) should be “productrs’”

47. In sentence (b) the word “it’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “its’” (c) should be “its” (d) should be “it”

48. In sentence (c) the word “Circle’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Circles’” (c) should be “Circles”

49. In sentence (c) the word “ovals”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “oval’s” (c) should be “ovals’”

50. In sentence (c) the word “box’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “boxs’” (c) should be “boxes’”

51. In sentence (c) the word “users”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “user’s” (c) should be “users’”

52. In sentence (c) the word “feelings”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “feeling’s” (c) should be “feelings’”

53. In sentence (c) the word “pattern’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “patterns’” (c) should be “patterns”

54. In sentence (c) the word “colors”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “color’s” (c) should be “colors’”

55. In sentence (c) the word “shoppers”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “shopper’s” (c) should be “shoppers’” (d) should be “shopper”

56. In sentence (d) the word “circle’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “circles’” (c) should be “circles”

57. In sentence (d) the word “designs”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “design’s” (c) should be “designs’”

58. In sentence (d) the word “Arm and Hammers”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Arm and Hammer’s” (c) should be “Arm and Hammers’”

59. In sentence (d) the word “produces”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “produce’s” (c) should be “produces’” (d) should be “produce”

60. In sentence (d) the word “consumer’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “consumers’” (c) should be “consumers” (d) should be “consumer”

61. In sentence (e) the word “Heinz’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Heinzs’” (c) should be “Heinzs” (d) should be “Heinz”

62. In sentence (e) the word “Coca Colas”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Coca Cola’s” (c) should be “Coca Colas’” (d) should be “Coca Cola”

63. In sentence (e) the word “effects”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “effect’s” (c) should be “effects’”

Read the following paragraph:

(a) Often a companys marketing consultants will custom-design products to appeal to the supposedly “typical” adult females emotions or to adult males, childrens, or teenagers feelings. (b) One of the marketing business’s leading consultants, Stan Gross, tests consumers emotional reactions to companie’s products and their packages by asking consumer’s to associate products with well-known personalities. (c) Thus, test taker’s responses to Gross’s questions might reveal that a particular laundry detergent has Sylvester Stallones’ toughness, Oprah Winfreys’ determination, or someone elses sparkling personality. (d) Manufacturing companie’s products are not the only one’s relying on Gross’s and other corporate image makers advice. (e) Sports team’s owners also use marketing specialists to design their teams images, as anyone who has seen the angry bull logo of the pro Chicago basketball team will agree. <<S&Shb>>

64. In (a) the word “companys”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “company’s” (c) should be “companys’” (d) should be “companies”

65. In (a) the word “products”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “product’s” (c) should be “products’”

66. In (a) the word “females”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “female’s” (c) should be “females’”

67. In (a) the word “males”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “male’s” (c) should be “males’”

68. In (a) the word “childrens”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “children’s” (c) should be “childrens’” (d) should be “children”

69. In (a) the word “teenagers”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “teenager’s” (c) should be “teenagers’”

70. In (b) the word “business’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “businesses’” (c) should be “business”

71. In (b) the word “tests”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “test’s” (c) should be “tests’” (d) should be “test”

72. In (b) the word “consumers”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “consumer’s” (c) should be “consumers’”

73. In (b) the word “reactions”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “reaction’s” (c) should be “reactions’”

74. In (b) the word “companie’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “companies” (c) should be “companies’” (d) should be “company’s”

75. In (b) the word “consumer’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “consumers’” (c) should be “consumers” (d) should be “consumer”

76. In (c) the word “test taker’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “test takers” (c) should be “test takers’”

77. In (c) the word “Stallones’”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Stallones” (c) should be “Stallone’s” (d) should be “Stallone”

78. In (c) the word “Winfreys’”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Winfreys” (c) should be “Winfrey’s” (d) should be “Winfrey”

79. In (c) the word “someone elses”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “someone elses’” (c) should be “someone else’s” (d) should be “someone else”

80. In (d) the word “companie’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “companies’” (c) should be “companies” (d) should be “company’s”

81. In (d) the word “one’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “ones” (c) should be “ones’”

82. In (d) the word “Gross’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “Gross” (c) should be “Grosses’”

83. In (d) the word “makers”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “maker’s” (c) should be “makers’”

84. In (e) the word “team’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “teams” (c) should be “teams’”

85. In (e) the word “owners”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “owner’s” (c) should be “owners’” (d) should be “owner”

86. In (a) the phrase “teams images”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “team’s images” (c) should be “teams’ images”

Read the following paragraph:

(a) In a multiple-family household sharing a single building, the issue of whats your’s, mine, or our’s may become confusing. (b) Are those stockings drying over the shower her’s (those belonging to my wife) or her’s (those belonging to the wife of my friend sharing the house)? (c) Were those dirty dishes left in the sink their’s, or did we forget our turn at the dishwashing? (d) Remembering who’s turn it is for a particular chore requires a good memory, as well as good manners. (e) Its a good thing that calendar memo books are carried at inexpensive stores like Walmart and Target, so that the weekly and monthly chores can be mapped out. (f) An old saying goes “every dog has it’s day,” and this proverb has special relevance to the multiple-family household. <Dr.P>

87. In (a) the word “whats”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “what’s” (c) should be “whats’” (d) should be “what”

88. In (a) the word “your’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “yours’” (c) should be “yours” (d) should be “your”

89. In (a) the word “our’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “ours” (c) should be “ours’” (d) should be “our”

90. In (b) the word “stockings”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “stocking’s” (c) should be “stockings’”

91. In (b) the repeated word “her’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “hers” (c) should be “hers’” (d) should be “her”

92. In (c) the word “their’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “theirs” (c) should be “theres” (d) should be “their”

93. In (d) the word “who’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “whos’” (c) should be “whose” (d) should be “who”

94. In (d) the word “requires”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “require’s” (c) should be “requires’” (d) should be “require”

95. In (d) the word “manners”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “manner’s” (c) should be “manners’” (d) should be “manner”

96. In (e) the word “Its”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “It’s” (c) should be “Its’” (d) should be “It”

97. In (e) the word “books”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “book’s” (c) should be “books’” (d) should be “book”

98. In (e) the word “stores”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “store’s” (c) should be “stores’” (d) should be “store”

99. In (f) the word “goes”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “goe’s” (c) should be “goes’” (d) should be “go”

100. In (f) the word “it’s”: (a) is correct as is (b) should be “its’” (c) should be “its” (d) should be “it”