About the site
I have been slowly working on the over all design for several months. Then came the realization I did not like it. lol So once again I have started the design process again. Hopefully I will like it long enough to complete the site. As you wonder about the site you are sure to notice several different designs, I will hopefully have the new design fully implemented by the end of Jan. 2012.
Side note until member login is coplete, the messageboard is closed due to spamming. Also I am working on the Charater database, this may take some time.
Update for Jan 1st 2012: I spent a great deal of time on the Character Development Questions for Writers. I feel it's ready. Of course if you feel I have left something out drop me a line on your thoughts. Next step is the Database.
Artical for the month of Jan. 2012
TITLE: Apostrophes: a gentle introduction
AUTHOR: Tim North E-MAIL: info@scribe.com.au
RESTRICTIONS: Not to be sold or altered.
COPYRIGHT: (c)2009 Tim North,
Scribe.com
MORE ARTICLES: Articals
Summary: Apostrophes are a common source of confusion for many writers. They needn't be, though, and this easy-to-follow article will help you to use them properly. Keywords: writing, punctuation, apostrophes, grammar, ESL
Apostrophes are a common source of confusion for many writers. They needn't be, though, and this easy-to-follow article will help you to use them properly.
Let's start with a very simple explanation of what a noun is. (Don't worry, this will be the only jargon in the entire article. I promise.)
A NOUN is a word that stands for a person or thing. Examples include "dog", "Tim", "love", "house" and "Ireland".
SINGULAR NOUNS stand for a single person or thing; for example, "chair". PLURAL NOUNS stand for several people or things; for example, "chairs".
PART 1. USING APOSTROPHES TO INDICATE POSSESSION
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The most common use of an apostrophe is to indicate possession by a person or thing of some other person or thing. For example: "John's book" or "Europe's history".
Using an apostrophe to indicate possession is really quite straight forward, yet it's a frequent source of confusion. There are two separate cases to consider: singular nouns and plural nouns.
SINGULAR NOUNS
When a noun is singular (i.e. it stands for a single person or thing) we show possession by adding apostrophe–s. For example:
the girl's book
Japan's recovering economy
the princess's gown
Mauritius's beaches
the cat's whiskers
Summary: Singular nouns are made possessive by adding apostrophe–s.
PLURAL NOUNS
When a noun is plural (i.e. it stands for a several people or things) we show shared possession by adding an apostrophe after the "s". For example:
the CEOs' perks (the perks shared by two or more CEOs)
the players' pride (the pride shared by two or more players)
the programmers' books (the books shared by two or more programmers)
the boys' games (the games belonging to two or more boys)
Summary: Plural nouns are made possessive by adding an apostrophe after the "s".
AN EXCEPTION
As with many rules, there is an exception. This one concerns nouns that form their plural without adding an s. For example: woman/women, person/people, sheep/sheep and child/children.
Words like this take apostrophe–s in both their forms. For example:
the woman's idea (the idea belonging to one woman)
the women's idea (the idea belonging to two or more women)
the child's gift (the gift belonging to one child)
the children's gift (the gift belonging to two or more children)
Summary: Nouns that become plural without using an "s" (e.g. woman/women) are made possessive by adding apostrophe–s to both forms.
PART 2. USING APOSTROPHES TO INDICATE MISSING LETTERS ------------------------------------------------
Another use of the apostrophe is to indicate missing letters in contractions such as "isn't", "doesn't" and "can't". For example:
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Full form Shortened form
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can not can't
do not don't
does not doesn't
I will I'll
is not isn't
it is
it's
let us let's
there is there's
you are you're
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You'll notice that the apostrophe appears in place of the omitted letter or letters. For example, in contracting "is not" to "isn't" the apostrophe replaces the missing "o".
That's all there is to it. Practise those simple rules, and you'll be the local expert on apostrophes.
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You'll find many more helpful tips like these in Tim North's much applauded range of e-books. More information is available on his web site, and all books come with a money-back guarantee.
scribe.com.au/ebooks
