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its = belonging to it (possessive)it’s = it is/it has (contraction)

whose = belonging to who (possessive)who’s = who is/who has (contraction)

There are some other times when apostrophes are not used – for example:

plurals of numerals – Four 15s make 60.

common curtailed words – phone (telephone), plane (aeroplane)

Activity 3b

Rewrite these sentences including apostrophes where necessary to show possession. Tick any that are correct:

1 I told them what both the consultants fees would be.

2 Boys clothes are generally rather less expensive than girls.

3 The novels of writers in the last few decades discuss the social issues of our time.

4 Last week I met my fathers three brothers wives who are three sisters.

5 Box the red pamphlets up in 100s and the blue ones in 50s.

6 Yours is the larger garden, but ours has better drainage.

7 The student from Ringwood Girls School found that it is difficult to take a cello on a bus.

8 The Harrises pool is a good place to cool off on a hot day.

9 My brother-in-laws childrens bicycles are in Mrs Marshs shed.

Solutions 3b

1 I told them what both the consultants’ fees would be.

2 Boys’ clothes are generally rather less expensive than girls’.

3 Correct (the apostrophe is not used to indicate plural)

4 Last week I met my father’s three brothers’ wives who are three sisters.

5 Correct (no need for apostrophes as the figure+s combination is easy to read)

6 Correct (possessive pronouns do not include apostrophes)

7 Correct (’cello, like ’phone, is no longer used; Girls is a plural noun being used as an adjective)

8 The Harrises’ pool is a good place to cool off on a hot day.

9 My brother-in-law’s children’s bicycles are in Mrs Marsh’s shed.

Activity 3c

Rewrite these sentences including apostrophes where necessary either to show that something has been omitted (contraction) or to make something clear:

1 Mind your ps and qs and make sure you dot your is and cross your ts.

2 I invited the Greek ambassador to call at four oclock but he couldnt come.

3 Dont ask that man whos wearing the bowler hat; hell only say he doesnt know.

4 Lets go to Melbourne on Tuesday; then well have time to see the cricket, wont we?

5 Weve just been to visit Walter Smith, but because hes been ill recently and hasnt properly recovered, they wouldnt let us see him.

6 There are four ss in Mississippi but theres only one M.

Solutions 3c

1 Mind your p’s and q’s and make sure you dot your i’s and cross your t’s.

2 I invited the Greek ambassador to call at four o’clock but he couldn’t come.

3 Don’t ask that man who’s wearing the bowler hat; he’ll only say he doesn’t know.

4 Let’s go to Melbourne on Tuesday; then we’ll have time to see the cricket, won’t we?

5 We’ve just been to visit Walter Smith, but because he’s been ill recently and hasn’t properly recovered, they wouldn’t let us see him.

6 There are four s’s in Mississippi but there’s only one M.