In last week’s blog post titled ‘Practise Your ‘S’ Rules’, we discussed the challenges of using ‘s’ correctly.
Today, let’s test your knowledge of the apostrophe ‘s’.
Remember that the apostrophe ‘s’ can be used in two ways:
To contract two words (e.g. “it’s” = “it is”, as in, “It’s a lovely day“, or “it has”, as in, “It’s been great talking to you.”)
To indicate possession or ownership (e.g. Lyla is the name of Azimah’s new British shorthair cat.)
Watch this video to hear Madam Azimah explain how to use the apostrophe ‘s’, and then try the quiz below!
Are you ready for the quiz? (The answers are provided below but do not cheat!)
Quiz: Does the ‘s’ in the underlined words show “is” or “has”, or is it the possessive ‘s’?
- I have read last week’s blog post and found it to be eye-opening.
- My laptop’s malfunctioning!
- He’s got four pet turtles.
- Excuse me, Professor, could you guide me to the location of the secret ladies’ washroom?
- The cat’s tail is long and fluffy.
- Farah’s attending the party tonight with her new husband!
- She’s already finished her homework.
- Who’s responsible for cleaning up the mess in the hall?
- The author’s vivid descriptions painted a picture of an enchanting castle.
- The waiter served the customers’ orders with a friendly smile.
Answers:
- Possessive ‘s’
- Is
- Has
- Possessive ‘s’
- Possessive ‘s’
- Is
- Has
- Is
- Possessive ‘s’
- Possessive ‘s’
Are you pleased with your score?
If so, well done!
If not, then have a listen to today’s video where I go into more detail. Do pay special attention to the past participle verb (some teachers call it ‘verb 3’) as it shows you whether ‘s’ indicates ‘is’ or ‘has’.
See you in the next lesson!
