' Apostrophe

Question 1

For contractions and possessives, use___

Answer 1

Apostrophes.

Question 2

To form the possessive of it, use___

Answer 2

Its.

Question 3

In informal writing, it is acceptable to indicate a year with only the last two digits preceded by___

Answer 3

An apostrophe.

Question 4

When certain abbreviations, letters, or words are used as nouns, use___

Answer 4

An apostrophe.

Question 5

To form the possessive of a singular noun that cannot be the same form as a plural noun, whether the singular noun ends in s or not, use___

Answer 5

An apostrophe followed by an s.

Question 6

To form the possessive of a plural noun when the noun ends in s or a singular noun ending in s that is the same form as the plural of that noun, use___

Answer 6

An apostrophe.

Question 7

To form the possessive of a plural noun when it ends in a letter other than s, use___

Answer 7

An apostrophe followed by an s.

Question 8

For places or names that are singular but have a final word in plural form and ending with an s, use___

Answer 8

Only an apostrophe.

Question 9

To add a possessive to a proper noun that is already in possessive form, use___

Answer 9

No additional punctuation.

Question 10

With two possessors, to indicate joint possession, use___

Answer 10

A single apostrophe with an s at the end of the second possessor.

Question 11

With two possessors, to indicate individual possession, use___

Answer 11

Apostrophes with an s at the end of each possessor.

Question 12

For possessive personal pronouns (ours, yours, his, hers, its, theirs, whose), serving as either noun-equivalents or adjective-equivalents, even when they end in s, use___

Answer 12

No apostrophe.

Question 13

When the noun is a normal plural, with an added s, in the possessive, add___

Answer 13

No extra s.

Question 14

If the plural is not one that is formed by adding s, for the possessive, after the apostrophe, add___

Answer 14

An s.

Question 15

A few English nouns have plurals that are not spelled with a final s but nevertheless end in an /s/ or a /z/ sound. In the absence of specific exceptional treatment in style guides, form the possessives of these plurals by adding___

Answer 15

An apostrophe and an s.

Question 16

To form singular possessives for compound nouns, use___

Answer 16

An apostrophe and an added s.

Question 17

To make a word possessive, if the word or compound includes, or even ends with, a punctuation mark, add___

Answer 17

An apostrophe and an s.

Question 18

In time and money references, among others, in constructions such as one hour’s respite, two weeks’ holiday, a dollar’s worth, five pounds’ worth, one mile’s drive from here, use___

Answer 18

An apostrophe.

Question 19

In the following possessive pronouns and adjectives: yours, his, hers, ours, its, theirs, and whose, use___

Answer 19

No apostrophe.

Question 20

It’s can be only___

Answer 20

A contraction of it is or it has.

Question 21

For possessive pronouns ending in s (one’s; everyone’s; somebody’s, nobody else’s, etc.), use___

Answer 21

An apostrophe.

Question 22

Many respected authorities recommend that practically all singular nouns, including those ending with a sibilant sound, have possessive forms with___so that the spelling reflects the underlying pronunciation.

Answer 22

An extra s after the apostrophe.

Question 23

If the singular possessive is difficult or awkward to pronounce with an added sibilant, add___

Answer 23

No extra s.

Question 24

For classical, biblical, and similar names ending in a sibilant, especially if they are polysyllabic, add___

Answer 24

No s in the possessive.

Question 25

Place names in the United States do not use___on federal maps and signs.

Answer 25

The possessive apostrophe.

Question 26

The United States Board on Geographic Names, which has responsibility for formal naming of municipalities and geographic features, has deprecated the use of___since 1890 so as not to show ownership of the place.

Answer 26

Possessive apostrophes.

Question 27

Only five names of natural features in the US are officially spelled with a___: Martha’s Vineyard; Ike’s Point, New Jersey; John E’s Pond, Rhode Island; Carlos Elmer’s Joshua View, Arizona; and Clark’s Mountain, Oregon.

Answer 27

Genitive apostrophe.

Question 28

Where a business name is based on a family name it should in theory take___, but many leave it out (contrast Sainsbury’s with Harrods).

Answer 28

An apostrophe.

Question 29

___is commonly used to indicate omitted characters, normally letters.

Answer 29

An apostrophe.

Question 30

___is used in contractions, such as can’t from cannot, it’s from it is or it has, and I’ll from I will or I shall.

Answer 30

The apostrophe.

Question 31

___is used in abbreviations, as gov’t for government. It may indicate omitted numbers where the spoken form is also capable of omissions, as ’70s for 1970s representing seventies for nineteen-seventies.

Answer 31

The apostrophe.

Question 32

___is generally omitted when letters are removed from the start of a word, particularly for a compound word.

Answer 32

The apostrophe.

Question 33

If the shortening is unusual, dialectal or archaic,___may still be used to mark it (e.g., ’bout for about, ’less for unless, ’twas for it was).

Answer 33

The apostrophe.

Question 34

The plural of single lowercase letters is usually indicated by adding___

Answer 34

An apostrophe and an s.

Question 35

To form the plural of numbers, use___

Answer 35

Numbers written out such as thousands, hundreds, ones, twos, threes, etc. as there isn’t clarity over 100s or 100’s is correct when writing the numbers themselves as plurals

Question 36

Names that are not strictly native to English sometimes have___substituted to represent other characters (see also As a mark of elision, below).

Answer 36

An apostrophe.