Exercise 2: Apostrophe Used For Possession

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L
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| By Eleanor Dickey
Eleanor Dickey, History & Literature
Eleanor is a distinguished Professor of Classics at the University of Reading in the UK, specializing in the study of classical literature, history, and culture.
Quizzes Created: 9 | Total Attempts: 2,053
| Attempts: 415 | Questions: 39
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1. ___ nose stretched out to sniff Zeus. 

Explanation

Possession: the nose of Chipper.

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About This Quiz
Punctuation Quizzes & Trivia

Choose the correct word to fill in the blank. Some sentences are ambiguous if taken in isolation, but they all have only one right answer in context: keep in mind that the sentences link together to form a story.

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2. ___ thought perhaps he should make friends after all.

Explanation

No possession is involved.

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3. He stopped running and started barking, so that ___ other dog came out of the house and barked too. 

Explanation

Possession: the dog of Martin.

Submit
4. The ___ mean very well, but they have bad breath.

Explanation

No possession is involved.

Submit
5. Neither does Kipper, since he never catches the ___.

Explanation

No possession is involved.

Submit
6. The ___ went up to Zeus and stopped barking. 

Explanation

No possession is involved.

Submit
7. These ___ are Siamese, you see. 

Explanation

No possession is involved.

Submit
8. He would not actually hurt a cat if he caught one, but the ___ do not know that. 

Explanation

No possession is involved.

Submit
9. Zeus ran out into the garden and climbed over the fence into ___ garden. 

Explanation

Possession: the garden of Martin.

Submit
10. ___ hiss was almost as intimidating as his claws.

Explanation

Possession: the hiss of Zeus. Another correct answer would have been "Zeus'".

Submit
11. ___ tail started to wag. 

Explanation

Possession: the tail of Chipper.

Submit
12. ___ dogs are named Kipper and Chipper. 

Explanation

Possessive: Martin's dogs = the dogs of Martin, the dogs belonging to Martin.

Submit
13. ___ rarely enjoy this.

Explanation

No possession is involved.

Submit
14. But Zeus did not run; instead he arched his back, fizzed out his fur, and extended his ___. 

Explanation

No possession is involved.

Submit
15. They are both Retriever ___.

Explanation

No possession is involved.

Submit
16. ___ confusion was evident: he did not know what to do. 

Explanation

Possession: the confusion of Kipper.

Submit
17. The ___ thought they had better make friends, but Zeus was not so sure.

Explanation

No possession is involved.

Submit
18. ___ favourite activity is chasing ___. 

Explanation

The activity is the favourite OF Kipper; no possession is involved for the cats.

Submit
19. The ___ back stayed arched, and he hissed at the dogs. 

Explanation

Possession: the back of the cat. There is only one cat involved at this point: Hera has not gone over the fence.

Submit
20. ___ have no dogs; instead they have children.

Explanation

Possession: the neighbours of Martin. Martin is by definition singular.

Submit
21. ___ back started to come down, and so did his fur. 

Explanation

Another correct answer would have been "Zeus's".

Submit
22. ___ keen nose quickly detected ___ scent, and he leaped up enthusiastically to chase him.

Explanation

Possession for both words: the nose of Kipper and the scent of Zeus. Both are singular, but Zeus ends in -s already, so his possessive could be either "Zeus'" or "Zeus's".

Submit
23. So very soon the ___ father let the ___ out.

Explanation

Possession: the father of the children (who do not end in -s even in the plural and therefore have the apostrophe before the -s). Possession is not involved for "cats".

Submit
24. A ___ can be very difficult to live with. 

Explanation

Possession: the howls of a cat. "Cat" must be singular because of "a".

Submit
25. The ___ noses touched the ___ nose, and peace was established.

Explanation

Possession for both words: the noses of the dogs and the nose of the cat. The dogs are plural; the cat is singular.

Submit
26. ___ coat is dark brown, and ___ is lighter. 

Explanation

Possession: the coats belong to the dogs. Each dog is singular.

Submit
27. The ___ wagged harder, and they whined. 

Explanation

Possession: the tails of the dogs. There are two dogs, so the apostrophe is added after the -s.

Submit
28. ___ howl was very penetrating, and ___ was simply deafening. 

Explanation

Possession for both words: the howl of Zeus and the howl of Hera. Each cat is singular, but Zeus ends in -s already, so you can make the possessive just by adding an apostrophe. You could also have said "Zeus's". You NEVER insert an apostrophe into a word that already has an -s as part of it, so you would NEVER want to say "Zeu's".

Submit
29. And these ___ teeth are particularly hard to brush, because both ___ are incapable of standing still. 

Explanation

The first "dogs" is possessive, as they have the teeth, and plural, as there are two dogs; the second is not possessive.

Submit
30. Two ___ are even worse.

Explanation

Possession: the howls of the cats. "Cats" must be plural because of "two": you can say "two cats", but never "two cat".

Submit
31. Martin and his neighbours came out, as did the ___ children. 

Explanation

In isolation either "neighbour's" or "neighbours'" could be right, as the children could have one parent or two, but in context it has to be plural.

Submit
32. The ___ are constantly wagging enthusiastically, except when they are asleep.

Explanation

Possession: the tails of the dogs, so it is the dogs that possess the tails and therefore have the apostrophe. The apostrophe is after the -s because the dogs are already plural.

Submit
33. The vet keeps telling Martin to brush his ___ teeth, but Martin never does it. 

Explanation

Possessive and plural.

Submit
34. Most ___ claws are fairly formidable, and ___ are particularly impressive. 

Explanation

Possession: the claws of most cats and the claws of Zeus. The "most cats" is plural; Zeus is singular but ends in -s, so it can have a possessive either "Zeus'" or "Zeus's".

Submit
35. The ___ barking was deafening.

Explanation

In isolation either "dog's" or "dogs'" could be right, as there could be either one or two dogs barking, but in context we know that there are two dogs barking.

Submit
36. The ___ mother wanted to keep the cats indoors, but the ___ wanted to go out.

Explanation

Possession: the mother of the children. Although "children" is a plural, it does not end in -s, and therefore the -s is added with the apostrophe. There is never any circumstance in which one could say "childrens" or "childrens'": it is always "children's". There is no possession involved with "cats", and therefore no apostrophe.

Submit
37. Both dogs like to jump up and lick ___.

Explanation

Possession: the faces of the visitors. The visitors must be plural, as a single visitor could not have more than one face, so the apostrophe goes after the -s.

Submit
38. A ___ teeth are usually hard to brush, because ___ do not enjoy the process.

Explanation

The first "dogs" is possessive, because the teeth belong to a dog, and singular, because "a" can only go with a singular word ("a dog", but never "a dogs"); the second is not possessive.

Submit
39. Recently the ___ children acquired two large ___ named Zeus and Hera.

Explanation

Possession: the children of the neighbours. If you take this sentence in isolation, the possessor of the children could be either one neighbour ("neigbour's children") or two ("neighbours' children"), but we know from the previous sentence that the neighbours are plural.

Submit
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___ nose stretched out to sniff Zeus. 
___ thought perhaps he should make friends after all.
He stopped running and started barking, so that ___ other dog came out...
The ___ mean very well, but they have bad breath.
Neither does Kipper, since he never catches the ___.
The ___ went up to Zeus and stopped barking. 
These ___ are Siamese, you see. 
He would not actually hurt a cat if he caught one, but the ___ do not...
Zeus ran out into the garden and climbed over the fence into ___...
___ hiss was almost as intimidating as his claws.
___ tail started to wag. 
___ dogs are named Kipper and Chipper. 
___ rarely enjoy this.
But Zeus did not run; instead he arched his back, fizzed out his fur,...
They are both Retriever ___.
___ confusion was evident: he did not know what to do. 
The ___ thought they had better make friends, but Zeus was not so...
___ favourite activity is chasing ___. 
The ___ back stayed arched, and he hissed at the dogs. 
___ have no dogs; instead they have children.
___ back started to come down, and so did his fur. 
___ keen nose quickly detected ___ scent, and he leaped up...
So very soon the ___ father let the ___ out.
A ___ can be very difficult to live with. 
The ___ noses touched the ___ nose, and peace was established.
___ coat is dark brown, and ___ is lighter. 
The ___ wagged harder, and they whined. 
___ howl was very penetrating, and ___ was simply deafening. 
And these ___ teeth are particularly hard to brush, because both ___...
Two ___ are even worse.
Martin and his neighbours came out, as did the ___ children. 
The ___ are constantly wagging enthusiastically, except when they are...
The vet keeps telling Martin to brush his ___ teeth, but Martin never...
Most ___ claws are fairly formidable, and ___ are particularly...
The ___ barking was deafening.
The ___ mother wanted to keep the cats indoors, but the ___ wanted to...
Both dogs like to jump up and lick ___.
A ___ teeth are usually hard to brush, because ___ do not enjoy the...
Recently the ___ children acquired two large ___ named Zeus and Hera.
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