By Marlene Caroselli, Ed.D.
It's been said that the grammatical man leads a logical life. The rules of grammar are indeed logical. They bring structure to our sentences and afford a readability that would not be accessible without them.
Of course, there are reasons other than logic for being well-versed i
n grammatical precepts. For high school students, one of the most important reasons is relates to the SAT. More than 70% writing section is based on a knowledge of grammar.
In this blog, we will explore one rule and then test your (and your child's) understanding of it.
Possessive pronouns never use an apostrophe.
So, "ours," "hers," "his," "theirs," and "its," when used to show possession, never require an apostrophe. It's pretty simple. But, the errors associated with this rule are frequent and--to a grammarian--horrifying. If you understand the rule, you are bound to do well on this test. (Take it at the same time your child takes it. Then compare your score with hers. A little bit of competition goes a long way toward making grammar fun.)
Encircle the word in parentheses that correctly completes the sentence.
- The company announced (its', it's, its) new president.
- I've completed my essay. She is late with (hers, her's, hers').
- The school was proud of (its', it's, its) cheerleading team.
- Our lunchroom serves great food--unlike (there's, theirs, their's).
- If (there's, theirs, their's) lightning, (its', it's, its) probably going to rain.
Answers: Were you fooled by the one sentence that had no possession, but only contractions? That was the last sentence, the answers for which are "there's" and "it's,"
The first four sentences had possessive pronouns and therefore, according to the simple rule, should not be spelled with apostrophes. The answers:
"its," "hers," "its," "theirs."
Now, understanding this, isn't your life a wee bit more logical?
Check out www.squidoo.com for more fun information on pronouns and call us at KnowledgePoints to see how we can help your child improve his/her grammar, both spoken and written.