The Proper Way to Use Apostrophe

          One of the most common punctuations to be used and misused is the apostrophe. Although it’s easy enough to use for contractions, there are several variations when it comes to its usage for possession. Let’s try to see some examples.

Possession

Singular Nouns

          Peter’s favorite food is hamburger.

          Precious’ room is as organized as it can be.

          Precious’s room is as organized as it can be.

          As seen in the examples above, apostrophe could simply be used to show possession. However, if the noun preceding the apostrophe ends with s, you could or could not add another s after the apostrophe (personally, I stick with just an apostrophe so it would not be read with two s but it’s good either way as long as you’re consistent with your grammar).

          The one in the other street is Parker’s house.

          The one in the other street is Parkers’ house.

          Statements written above were not the same. The owner of the house in the former statement is Parker while the owner in the latter is Parkers. Always place your apostrophe after the complete name of the proper noun or else it might cause some confusion in the part of the reader.

Plural Nouns

          Pan and Parker’s cellphones are both brand new.

          Pan’s and Parker’s cellphones are both brand new.

          Usage of apostrophe in singular nouns are easy but when there are two subjects it becomes a bit tricky. First of all, the statements above are not the same. The first statement shows that the cellphones are owned both by Pan and Parker. But on the second statement, it says that the cellphone of Pan and the cellphone of Parker, which are theirs individually, are both brand new.

          It is easy enough to interchange the usage of apostrophe in the case above but we should be careful on how to apply this punctuation because it can give a different meaning. Just always remember that if the sentences become ambiguous, you could always change it in order to strengthen your point. Yes, there are other ways of stating possession and using apostrophes are just one of those so try to familiarize yourself with these variations so could easily write and relay your message to your readers.

Contractions

          Don’t use that door. It’s broken.

          You shouldn’t use that door since its handle is broken.

          As for contractions, apostrophe could be used as seen above to simplify the following words: do not (don’t), should not (shouldn’t), and it is (it’s). However, you should be careful since it’s is not the same as its. The former is a contraction while the latter is a possessive adjective (in this example, its describe that the door’s handle is broken).

          There are still some rules and variations to completely master the usage of apostrophe. And mastery always come with practice. So always throw an apostrophe here and there and, sooner or later, you’d be able to use it with ease.

         

Proper Use of the Words Site, Sight and Cite

Site vs sight vs cite

                Have you ever encountered problems with using the words site, sight and cite?  This post will help you understand the proper use of the words site, sight and cite.

When to Use Then and Than

Then vs than

                ‘Then’ and ‘than’ are commonly confused with each other because apart from sounding similar, they are only one letter apart. However, it is important to note that they have different functions and uses in a sentence. ‘Then’ has different functions but it is commonly related with time, such as when telling sequences of events or providing instructions. It can be used as an adjective or adverb.

Proper Use of the Words Weather, Whether and Wether

Weather, whether or wether?

            One of the more confused words in the English vocabulary is the use of weather and whether.  Have you ever made this mistake?  To avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future, find out below the proper use of the words weather, whether and wether.

How Chinese Students in American Colleges and Universities Deal with Academic Papers

Are you a Chinese student majoring in Humanities and Sociology? Are you staring in your computer now thinking of what to write on your academic papers?

You are not alone. 

Chinese Students Strive to be Competitive in American Colleges and Universities

Are you a Chinese student in the United States seeking help with your academic essays and research papers?

In the past 4 years, there has been an exponential growth of Chinese students in the United States.  The Institute of International Education says that Chinese students account for almost 33% of all the 975,000 overseas pupils. 

The Visit Movie Analysis: An Insight on Becca’s Character

Shyamalan’s The Visit is a thriller movie of 2015 revolving around the week-long vacation of two children in the house of their grandparents whom they have not yet seen. One of the interesting characters in the film is Becca, the older of the two.

One of Becca’s passions is in film making. Because of that, she made a documentary focusing on the visit. Tyler, the younger brother of Becca, has been her assistant in the documentary. While making the documentary, she found out that her mother left her grandparents’ house because of a dispute which her mother did not want to discuss. The argument was the cause of the non-communication of the two parties. This knowledge encouraged her more to make the documentary in order to have a closure to this unresolved problem. It seems that she became obsessed with the idea to make something right in their family despite their father leaving them.

            At the start, it is noticeable that Becca is likely to turn a blind eye to something wrong with their family. Even when her Nana, the grandmother, has been doing weird and scary things, like the time when she ordered her to go inside the oven or when she “accidentally” put cookie batter on her laptop’s camera, she did not want to admit there was something wrong and just dismissed the idea. Again, this may be because she wanted to view her family nearly as perfect as possible.

Later in the movie, it was said that Becca never looked in the mirror after their father left. Tyler sees it as a sign that she sees herself as worthless. She then revealed that she never forgave their father for leaving them. This may be the reason why she wanted reconciliation for her mom and her grandparents. Because she herself cannot forgive, she became preoccupied with making things right.

Towards the end of the film, it was revealed that their grandparents have tried to communicate with their mother long before the visit. Their mother said reconciliation was possible if she wanted to. Tyler was even able to make fun of what happened through a rap. This last part was a lesson for Becca – she only has to learn how to forgive.

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