apostrophe.me takes the confusion out of using apostrophes
November 17, 2009
BY BILL FERRIS
Do your students struggle with apostrophes? Or is that apostrophe’s? Aaugh! Lucky for them, there’s a handy chart available on the web that shows how those flying commas work. Go to apostrophe.me and check out “How To Use An Apostrophe,” which is exactly what it sounds like.
The chart goes over the basics (don’t use apostrophes on plurals, do use them to indicate possession or for contractions), as well as more confusing rules such as “its” versus “it’s.” All the information you need, plus cool pictures of rocket ships and dinosaurs, make apostrophe.me a handy grammatical reference for any age group — mostly.
I say mostly because apostrophe.me is hosted by another site called The Oatmeal, which isn’t appropriate for students. So if you haven’t already, please don’t email this link to all your students. Instead, consider a screen grab, printing it out, or if you prefer, ordering a poster version.
Related stuff:
Follow ThatWhichMatter on Twitter for bite-sized grammar tips
It’s an apostrophe! It’s a semicolon! No, it’s GRAMMARMAN!
Its not what you say, but “how” you say it: The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks
Its You’re Fault if There Not Learning Grammar
