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Where have all the [apostrophes] gone, long time ago?
(Peter, Paul and Mary, 'Where have all the flowers gone')The use of the apostrophe in the English language had its historical beginnings in the 16th century, where it was used to indicate missing letters in English words, this post-dated the French use of apostrophes, l'apostrophe, l'histoire and so on. Shakespeare inserted apostrophes when letters were missing; letters that no longer represented a sound, "Fie on't! O fie!" "Tis a consummation devoutly to be wish'd". Today we insert apostrophes to denote contracted words used in informal writing, for example, I'm, I am.
In the 17th century printers began to use the 's to denote the singular possessive and later (18th century) the plural possessive s' raised its head.
This apostrophe track, seems to have encountered difficulties with writers' tolerance during the late 20th and early 21st century as regards incorrect use, or lack of use.
IS TEXT MESSAGING TO BLAME?
In text messages there is the trend to use minimum punctuation. It was especially difficult on early mobile telephones to access punctuation with the key board patterned as below:
1 2ABC 3DEF
To write C the key board
is pressed 3 times
To access punctuation press number 1,
but who can be bothered after so many
presses to write a single word.
Is this when individuals stopped using apostrophes?
New mobiles, though, have keyboards similar to the computer keyboard. Far easier to write words and insert punctuation. The question is asked, "Do we want our students ignoring punctuation when using computers or even mobile telephones?
Earlier than the introduction of technical devices the teaching of punctuation and grammatical forms, was largely censured because of the way it was taught - rote learning. At the time there was no method of teaching that satisfied the opponents of rote learning, so widespread teaching of grammar and less used punctuation (e.g. apostrophes, colons, semi-colons, commas) did not happened for approximately forty years. That is probably two generations who have merrily picked up or not confidently acquired the 'bits and pieces' of writing English conventions.
Today's young people are required to adopt varied roles in their interaction with people; they shift, often moment-to-moment between writing personal, informal communications and writing professional, formal communications.
Formal writing demands the correct use of spelling, grammar and punctuation.
In this article the punctuation that is highlighted is the use of apostrophe/noun. Below are samples of insecure use of the apostrophe by ten university students from a class of 24 (2014). The samples come from formal essay writing.
but it is implied through it's ideals of literacy (its (a possessive pronoun, it does not require an apostrophe);
students' in a drama class (students (plural, no apostrophe);
to write appropriately in a range of context's (contexts (plural, no apostrophe);
each individuals learning (individual's (singular possessive);
during a students education (student's (singular possessive);
we should not just pay attention to the students literacy skills as just reading and writing (student's (singular possessive);
may inhibit a students life outside of the classroom (student's (singular possessive);
each students' literacy level (student's (singular possessive)
adolescents schooling (adolescents' (plural possessive);
great understanding to what is necessary in student literacy learning (students' (plural possessive).
...
WHAT ARE THE VARIED COMMON APOSTROPHES FOR STUDENTS TO LEARN?
Contractions and apostrophes
The apostrophe (') is used when writing contracted words e.g. 'haven't' have not, 'wouldn't' would not, it's it is.It indicates that letters have been left out of the word or phrase e.g. isn't (the missing letter being 'o' , the contraction of the phrase 'is not'). The exceptions are possessive pronouns, hers, his, ours, theirs, yours and its - apostrophes are not required.
Contractions are used when recording speech; they are not part of formal writing.
Possession and apostrophes
The apostrophe is inserted to show something or someone owns something (nouns). This is called the apostrophe of possession. The singular possession apostrophe is inserted before the 's and the plural possession apostrophe is inserted after the s'. For example:
The dog's collar is blue (singular possession, one dog possesses a blue collar);
All the dogs' collars are blue (plural possession, more than one dog has a blue collar).
I stayed at my auntie's home, while my mother visited my brother in hospital (singular possession, one auntie);
I stayed at my aunties' home, while my mother visited my brother in hospital (plural possession, more than one auntie in the home).
What to do with apostrophes when the word ends in -s?
To simplify where apostrophes are placed when nouns end in -s mostly follow the rule associated with singular and plural nouns. Additionally, listen to the way the word is pronounced and proceed from there.
For singular possession add the apostrophe before the 's e.g. Bridget Jones's Diary; Thomas's brother broke the long-jump record; the actress's contract has been signed.
There are exceptions, for example names of organizations e.g. St Thomas' Hospital.
For plural possession, add the apostrophe after the s' e.g. It was originally a girls' school; the building of the house will finish in two weeks' time; Fred must know that his duties include cleaning the horses' stables.
No! Its a plural no apostrophe is needed!
The Citizen's of Australia... The Citizens of Australia.
...
Try this activity to assist the automatic writing of apostrophes in continuous print.
Assist the development of spontaneous apostrophe insertion by having a daily SNAP QUIZ. In groups of four, students 'beat the clock'. A set of 5-10 apostrophe problems are set. Individuals in each group complete the task and when they have done so, the designated captain of the group, calls, "SNAP".
Make a set of cards for each group (minus the answers!) and different cards can be handed to the varied groups each day. This will entail secrecy about the content!
Example SNAP QUIZ card 1
Place the apostrophe or delete the apostrophe or insert a letter where appropriate.
1. The bus steering wheel was wearing out. (A. The bus's steering wheel was wearing out.)
2. Whats that I hear? (A. What's that I hear? )
3. The students essays were high quality. (A. The students' essays were high quality.)
4. Today is Michaels turn to cook. (A. Today is Michael's turn to cook.)
5. They sat in the Dr's waiting room. (A. They sat in the doctor's waiting room.)
Example SNAP QUIZ card 2 |
1. Keatss six odes are famous. (A. Keats's six odes are famous.)
2. The sign said, 'Mens cuts $15'. (A. The sign said, 'Men's cuts $15'.)
3. Doesnt the sound make a difference! (A. Doesn't (or formal writing 'does not') the sound make a difference.)
4. "Not one of our's," she said after examining the book. (A. "Not one of ours," she said after examining the books.)
5. In one weeks ' time, I will be on holiday. (A. In one week's time, I will be on holiday.)
Example SNAP QUIZ card 3
Place the apostrophe or delete the apostrophe or insert a letter where appropriate.
1. Doctors complaints encouraged the publishing of patient feedback. (A. Doctors' complaints encouraged the publishing of patient feedback.)
2. The studys authors think their findings are important. (A. The study's authors think their findings are important.)
3. Donors' are keen to help. (A. Donors are keen to help.)
4. "Shouldnt you go on the tram?" (A. "Shouldn't you go on the tram?")
5. He miss's his family. (A. He misses his family.)
