Presents:
The Dirty Dozen
Workshop Series
Workshop Eight:
Apostrophes
& Faulty Predication
Part One:
Apostrophes
Which sentence is
correct?
The ground crew quickly prepared the
plane for it’s next flight.
The ground crew quickly prepared the
plane for its next flight.
The ground crew quickly prepared
the plane for it’s next flight.
The ground crew quickly prepared
the plane for its next flight.
Why?
Answer A is incorrect
because it’s means it is.
Its shows possession.
Apostrophe Use
Apostrophes are used for
Contractions
Example:
He wasn’t (was not) excited to leave.
Possessive nouns & indefinite pronouns
Examples: John’s pet raccoon is smelly.
The answer was anyone’s guess.
Possessive Pronunciation
In some cases, we can omit the –’s:
•
•
•
•
Singular nouns ending in an s, z, or x sound
Names with more than one s (Moses)
Names that sound like plurals (Rivers, Bridges)
Nouns followed by a word beginning in an s
Examples: Moses’ mother hid him in a basket.
Jeff Bridges’ performance in The Big
Lebowski has made the film a lasting favorite.
You are late again, for goodness’ sake!
Apostrophe Errors (apos)
Until recently apostrophes were used to form the
plurals of abbreviations (MFA’s), dates (1980’s), and
words or characters named as words*, (if’s, and’s,
but’s). Most current texts no longer recommend the
apostrophe in these cases.
Correct: He earned two MFAs in the 1980s.
My phone number has three 4s [or 4s].
Your plan has too many ifs [or ifs].
*
Checking for (apos) Errors
Rule #1: An apostrophe will always be
placed either before or after an
-s at the end of a noun owner.
Examples:
That store’s sales figures are always
impressive. (1 store)
Those three stores’ sales figures are
always impressive. (3 stores)
Checking for (apos) Errors
Rule #2: The noun owner will always
be followed by what it owns.
Examples:
That store’s sales figures are
always impressive.
Those three stores’ sales figures
are always impressive.
Making Possessive Nouns
Step 1. Determine the owner. In these
examples, the owner is store or stores.
Step 2. If the noun owner is singular, place an
apostrophe and an s at the end of the noun.
store
store’s
Step 3. If the noun owner is plural, place the
apostrophe at the end of the noun. If the plural
noun ends in s, do not add another s.
stores
stores’
Plural Possessives
Some plural nouns do not end in s. To form the
possessive of plural nouns that do not end in s, add an
apostrophe and s at the end of the noun.
Examples:
mice
children
men
mice’s (not mices’)
children’s (not childrens’)
men’s (not mens’)
Possessive Pronouns
Some indefinite pronouns form their
possessives by adding an apostrophe
and an s at the end of the pronoun.
Examples:
anybody
anybody’s
everyone
everyone’s
someone
someone’s
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns do not add an
apostrophe to form the possessive.
Examples:
yours (not your’s)
hers (not her’s)
ours (not our’s)
its (not it’s)
Its vs. It’s
The ground crew quickly prepared
the plane for it’s next flight.
It’s always means it is or it has.
The ground crew quickly prepared
the plane for its next flight.
Its is the possessive pronoun.
(Psst! The construction its’ does not exist.
The plural possessive would be their.)
Possessive
Compound Nouns
To make a compound noun possessive,
add an apostrophe or apostrophe and
–s to the last word in the compound.
Example
Singular:
brother-in-law
brother-in-law’s
Plural:
brothers-in-law
brothers-in-law’s
Joint Ownership
To show joint ownership by two people,
add an apostrophe or apostrophe -s to the
second noun of the pair.
Example:
Shana borrowed her mother and
father’s car for a road trip.
If the two members of a noun pair possess
a set of things individually, add an
apostrophe or apostrophe -s to each noun.
Example:
Both Molly’s and David’s families
went skiing last week.
Inappropriate Apostrophes
• Apostrophes should not be
used to form plurals.
Incorrect: The dog’s barked loudly.
Correct: The dogs barked loudly.
• Apostrophes should not be
used with verbs that end in s.
Incorrect: She want’s to go jogging.
Correct: She wants to go jogging.
’
In the following pairs, one sentence
is correct, and the other sentence
has an incorrect use of an
apostrophe or a missing apostrophe.
A.
Lucas left class to go to
the men’s room.
B.
Lucas left class to go to
the mens’ room.
A.
Lucas left class to go to
the men’s room.
B.
Lucas left class to go to
the mens’ room.
Answer B is incorrect. The plural of man
is men, so the plural possessive is men’s.
Remember, first make the noun plural;
then make it possessive.
In the following pairs, one sentence
is correct, and the other sentence
has an incorrect use of an
apostrophe or a missing apostrophe.
A. Of all my coworker’s, I like
Michelle the best.
B. Of all my coworkers, I like
Michelle the best.
A. Of all my coworker’s, I like
Michelle the best.
B. Of all my coworkers, I like
Michelle the best.
Answer A is incorrect. Coworker’s is the
possessive. Coworkers is the plural.
(Remember that an apostrophe does not
make a noun plural.)
In the following pairs, one sentence
is correct, and the other sentence
has an incorrect use of an
apostrophe or a missing apostrophe.
A.
Matt bought two weeks’ worth of
food supplies for his camping trip.
B.
Matt bought two week’s worth of
food supplies for his camping trip.
A.
Matt bought two weeks’ worth of
food supplies for his camping trip.
B.
Matt bought two week’s worth of
food supplies for his camping trip.
Answer B is incorrect. Week is singular.
Weeks is plural. Since the amount of
groceries is for two weeks, the plural
possessive is weeks’.
Part Two:
Faulty Predication
Which sentence
is correct?
Dementia is a neurological disorder that
affects memory.
Dementia is when a person has a
neurological disorder that affects memory.
Dementia is a neurological disorder
that affects memory.
Dementia is when a person has a
neurological disorder that affects memory.
Why?
Answer B is incorrect
because dementia is not a
time, but a disorder.
Faulty Predication (fp)
Faulty predication occurs when the
subject and the verb do not make sense
together. In other words, the subject
can’t “be” or “do” the predicate.
What’s a Predicate?
The predicate is the part of the sentence or
clause, including the verb, that expresses
what the subject is or does.
Michele worked studiously on her paper.
subject
predicate
(fp) Example
The purpose of cars were
invented to transport people.
(The purpose was not invented. Cars
were invented.)
Correct:
The purpose of cars is to transport people.
Cars were invented to transport people.
How to spot (fp)
Tip
one
The phrase is when can
indicate a faulty predicate.
Golf is when people try to hit small balls
into holes in the ground using clubs.
(Golf is not a time.)
Golf is a sport that involves people hitting
small balls into holes in the ground using clubs.
How to spot (fp)
Tip
two
The phrase is where can
indicate a faulty predicate.
Claustrophobia is where a person is
afraid of enclosed spaces.
(Claustrophobia is not a place.)
Claustrophobia is a disorder that causes a
person to fear enclosed spaces.
How to spot (fp)
Tip
three
The phrase the reason is
because… is redundant.
The reason for low sales is
because prices are too high.
The reason for low sales is that
prices are too high.
Sales are low because prices are
too high.
How to spot (fp)
Tip
four
Prepositional phrases
cannot be the subjects of
sentences.
During the hurricane’s winds
caused a lot of damage.
The hurricane’s winds caused a
lot of damage.
In the following pairs of
sentences, one sentence has
faulty predication, and the other
sentence has a subject and a
verb that “match.”
A.
Fishing is when people catch fish
using hooks and bait.
B.
When people go fishing, they use
hooks and bait to catch fish.
A.
Fishing is when people catch fish
using hooks and bait.
B.
When people go fishing, they use
hooks and bait to catch fish.
Answer A is incorrect because
fishing is not a time.
In the following pairs of
sentences, one sentence has
faulty predication, and the other
sentence has a subject and a
verb that “match.”
A.
In her frustration with traffic caused
her to get a speeding ticket.
B.
Her frustration with traffic caused
her to get a speeding ticket.
A.
In her frustration with traffic caused
her to get a speeding ticket.
B.
Her frustration with traffic caused
her to get a speeding ticket.
Answer A is incorrect. In her frustration is a
prepositional phrase, and therefore cannot
be the subject of a sentence.
In the following pairs of
sentences, one sentence has
faulty predication, and the other
sentence has a subject and a
verb that “match.”
A.
A rare antique in good condition
can sell for thousands of dollars
at auction.
B.
The good condition of a rare
antique can sell for thousands of
dollars at auction.
A.
A rare antique in good condition
can sell for thousands of dollars
at auction.
B.
The good condition of a rare
antique can sell for thousands of
dollars at auction.
Answer B is incorrect. The
good condition cannot be sold.
Only the antique can be sold.
These Dirty Dozen Workshops are also
available online at the Writing Center’s
website in two formats:
Workshop Presentation PDFs
Under “Handouts,” we have posted pdfs of the PowerPoint
presentations we use in these workshops.
New! Quick & Dirty Dozen Videos
These short videos recap each workshop in five minutes or less.
For appointments, resources, handouts and more, visit:
www.methodist.edu/writing-center
Thanks for coming!
See you next semester!
Thanksgiving is where family and friend’s
get together and eat lots of turkey. My
familys house is always full of good smells
and tons of people. Dad’s favorite thing to
do on Thanksgiving is watch football. The
reason he likes to watch the game is
because he used to play football in college
Its his favorite sport. I cant imagine
Thanksgiving without football!