Punctuation: Apostrophes & End Punctuation

Contents:
* Apostrophe
* Period
* Exclamation point
* Question mark

Apostrophes
There are three reasons to use an apostrophe:
1.  To show possession
2.  To show something is missing
3.  To show plurals

Let's look at some examples.  We'll start with possession.   There's a handy trick to see if you're dealing with a possessive:

Reword the phrase to read like this:  The book of the boy.
If the noun in your test phrase is a building, object, or piece of furniture, you do not need an apostrophe.  Otherwise, you do. 

Don't forget the rule of possessives!  If it already ends in -s or -es, you only add an apostrophe.  If it doesn't, add 's.

Quote :

Gem, sword - The sword of Gem - Gem's hat
Hycis, dragon - The dragon of Hycis - Hycis' hat  *Notice that Oromis ends in s, so we just add an apostrophe!
Riders, dragons - The dragons of the Riders - Riders' dragons
Rider, dragon - The dragon of the Rider - Rider's dragon
Gem and Drannor, training - The training of Gem and Drannor - Gem and Drannor's training (only the last noun gets the 's).
Castle, throne room - The throne room of the castle - the castle throne room (no apostrophe needed--a castle's a building)
Couch, cushion - The cushion of the couch - the couch cushion (again, no apostrophe needed)

The second use for an apostrophe is to show that something has been omitted (usually contractions).

For example:  do not -->  omit the second 'o' and we have --> don't

Common contractions:
do not/don't, cannot/can't, will not/won't, should not/shouldn't, would not/wouldn't, have not/haven't

SPECIAL NOTE:  There is a big difference between "its" (belonging to it) and "it's" (a contraction for "it is").  Please do not confuse the two.

The final use of an apostrophe is to show plurals of lowercase letters.  We used to use apostrophes to show plurals of all letters and numbers (straight A's, the 1960's, et cetera).  This is no longer the case--although some teachers prefer that you still use the apostrophe.


End punctuation (period, exclamation point, question mark)
There are four types of sentences, and each has its own end punctuation. 

A declarative sentence makes a statement of fact (you are declaring something to be true).  Depending upon how you feel about this statement, your sentence will end in either a period or an exclamation point.  Consider:

Quote :

I hate homework.

or:

I hate homework!

An interrogative sentence interrogates, or asks a question.  It will end in a question mark.

Quote :

Will you be joining us?

or:

You will be joining us, correct?

An imperative sentence makes a demand of some sort (no matter how politely).  Like a declarative sentence, it will end in either a period or exclamation point depending upon how urgently you need your demand met.

Quote :

Shut the door, please.

or

Shut the door, please!

Finally, an exclamatory sentence shows strong emotion.  It will end in an exclamation point.

Quote :

Ouch!

PLEASE DO NOT ABUSE EXCLAMATION POINTS.  Use one, not two or three or ten.