Apostrophes are one of those punctuation marks that confuse a lot of people. But although some people struggle with the rules, it’s quite an easy bit of English grammar to master.
Maybe you have a rough idea or perhaps you’re an apostrophe expert. Whichever describes you, try our fun apostrophe quiz! You’re sure to learn something either way with our explanations for any questions that puzzled you.
Questions about Apostrophes and Possessives
1. Which of the following is a correct possessive?
A. The Jones’s house.
B. The Jones’ house.
C. The Joneses house.
2. True or false? If a singular possessive noun ends in the letter S, you can omit the S after the apostrophe, for example, it was James’ Mazda.
3. True or false? Apostrophes are the same punctuation sign as the accents you see over the letter in some languages, like Spanish.
4. True or false? You can’t use an apostrophe when a thing possesses a thing, for example, the house’s back garden.
Scroll down for the answers.
Answers to Quiz on Apostrophes and Possessives
1. A. Use an apostrophe with plural possessives.
2. False. But also true. Strictly, it’s only grammatically correct if you use the S: it was James’s sandwich. However, some style guides will tell you to omit it for simplicity.
3. False. If you have a non-English keyboard, never use foreign accents instead of an apostrophe. Either manually insert an apostrophe or switch your keyboard language when writing in English.
4. False. It’s acceptable to do this but it’s often clearer for the reader to use of: the back garden of the house.
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