When should apostrophes be used in formal writing?

When should apostrophes be used in formal writing?

Apostrophes can be used to create contractions (shortened forms of words or phrases). Apostrophes also indicate possession. Overall, the apostrophe is not common in scientific writing.

What are the 5 examples of apostrophe?

Apostrophe ExamplesTwinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. ( O holy night! Then come, sweet death, and rid me of this grief. ( O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth. ( Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean roll! ( Welcome, O life!

What are the 3 Uses of apostrophe?

The apostrophe has three uses: 1) to form possessive nouns; 2) to show the omission of letters; and 3) to indicate plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols.

What is the rule for adding apostrophes?

The general rule is that the possessive of a singular noun is formed by adding an apostrophe and s, whether the singular noun ends in s or not. The possessive of a plural noun is formed by adding only an apostrophe when the noun ends in s, and by adding both an apostrophe and s when it ends in a letter other than s.

Is it Chris’s or Chris ‘?

Which is correct, Chris’s chair or Chris’ chair? James’s car or James’ car? Actually, both ways are correct. If a proper name ends with an s, you can add just the apostrophe or an apostrophe and an s.

Where does the apostrophe go in peoples?

Spell the word. Put the apostrophe after the last letter. The last letter is “e.” So: people’s.

When can you say peoples?

Sometimes people can be used as a plural noun (people = more than one person). If you’re only speaking about individuals you would say “people”. We use the word “peoples” to talk about groups of specific ethnicities, races, communities, or nations.

Is it correct to use peoples?

So basically, both person and people can be used as singular nouns, people can be used as a plural noun and persons and peoples are also acceptable plural forms. I would say that these days, using people as a singular noun and both peoples and persons are fairly uncommon and do sound quite formal.

Should peoples have an apostrophe?

Peoples is a plural collective noun. The word “peoples” actually referrals to one or more groups of persons. To make a plural word, ending in “s”, plural, one simply adds an apostrophe after the word; thus, the correct form is as follows: peoples’.

What is the apostrophe of will not?

The apostrophe in contractionsTypeWithout contractionsUsing “not”is not, has not, had not, did not, would not, can notUsing “is”she is, there is, he is, it is, Mary is, Jim is, Germany is, who isUsing “am”I amUsing “will”I will, you will, she will, we will, they will3

What is the apostrophe symbol?

The apostrophe (‘ or ‘) character is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, it is used for three purposes: The marking of the omission of one or more letters (as in the contraction of do not to don’t).

Can we say peoples or people’s?

The aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere speak many different languages. The formation of the possessive is regular; the singular is people’s and the plural is peoples ‘.

Can I say 2 persons?

Your first choice when talking about more than one person is “(two) people”. “Persons” only makes sense if you mean “individuals”and as 郭东兴 has pointed out, this is quite uncommon. Persons is an old word, from formal English.

How do you write peoples?

Most of the time, people is the correct word to choose as a plural for person. Persons is archaic, and it is safe to avoid using it, except in legal writing, which has its own traditional language. Peoples is only necessary when you refer to distinct ethnic groups (for example, within the same region).

Is People’s a real word?

People is the correct word. If you are talking about the plural, then particularly use people, but if you are talking about pointing or showing some possession of something to any plural category then people’s is okay.

How do you use people’s?

“People’s” is used when “People” is taken as a whole, as a singular noun showing a group of people. “Peoples’” is used when “Peoples” is taken as a plural noun showing various groups of people, not one group, but several groups of people, meaning plural of plural, Peoples.

Can I say persons?

The noun person has two plurals: persons and people. Most people don’t use persons, but the sticklers say there are times when we should. The traditional rule is that persons is used for either an exact or a small number.

What’s the difference between peoples and people’s?

The word “peoples” is a plural noun meaning one or more groups who are ethnically and culturally related, usually to compare them. “People’s” is the possessive form of the whole human group (like “mankind”) or of a collective group as in my description of the usage above.

Is bunch of people correct?

Yes, the phrase bunch of people is not wrong; in fact it’s very right. The phrase is very popular in its informal use. However, phrases such as a group of people or a crowd of people are preferred in formal meetings. There is one time when you can use the term “bunch” when referring to a collection of people.

What’s the plural form of people?

The noun people can be countable or uncountable. In more general, commonly used, contexts, the plural form will also be people. However, in more specific contexts, the plural form can also be peoples e.g. in reference to various types of peoples or a collection of peoples.