The apostrophe ( ’ ) has three uses: contractions plurals and possessives. It is used with ‘s’ toshow possession. The formation of possessive is treated in different ways.
Formation of Possessives
- The possessive of the singular noun is formed by adding ‘s’ (apostrophe and ‘s)
Example:Ada’s medical book.
The child’s toy.
Father’s retirement
- The possessive of a plural noun is formed by adding only an apostrophe when the noun ends in ‘s’ Example: Girls’ hostel
Horses’ tail
The boys’ baseball team.
- The possessive of the plurals not ending with ‘s’ is formed by adding apostrophe and ‘s’
Example: Men’s club
Children’s Day.
- Nouns having several words must have their possessive only to the last word.
Example: The President of Nigeria’s speech.
The Prime Minister of India’s visit to Japan.
The door of my friend’s house.
- Two nouns having close association must have the possessive to the latter.
Example: Wren and Martin’s grammar.
Johnson and Johnson’s baby face powder
- The possessive of nouns in apposition must be put to the second noun.
Example: This is Sharon, the teacher’s favourite student
This is Bisi, my friend’s wife.
He lives in Okaa, Anambra’s capital
- Two different nouns having no relation, require separate possessive forms.
Example: Mike’s and John’s books
Note: ‘s’ is omitted when there are hissing sounds
Example: For goodness’ sake.
For conscience’ sake.
If a singular possessive noun ends with an ‘s’(such as James, Moses), you can either use an apostrophe before a second ‘s’ or after first ‘s’
Example: Saint James’ Cathedral or Saint James’s Cathedral.
EVALUATION
Show the possessive of these expressions using apostrophe where appropriate.
- Kunle house.
- Workers salary.
- Moses followers.
- At his finger tip.
READING ASSIGNMENT
Countdown in English, pg. 217
- Comprehension (Reading to Grasp. Main Points); Stock Exchange, page 134.
The passage explains what shares are and what the purposes of the stock exchange are.
EVALUATION
Read and answer the questions.
READING ASSIGNMENT
Effective English, 134, 135.
GENERAL EVALUATION/REVISIONAL QUESTIONS
Give the past and past participle form.
(i) awake (ii) Freeze
(iii) fight (iv) swear
(v) lay (vi) quit
(vii) lie (viii) tread
(ix) creep (x) wind
- Writing – Narrative – A Place of Interest I Visited
Remember, to write a good narrative, the following must be done.
- Use the past tense forms of verbs to give an account of events which happened in the past.
- Present the events or actions in a natural sequence.
- Divide the tune in which the actions took place into small periods.
- Discuss one main idea or event in a paragraph.
- Drop the ideas or points which do not contribute to the unity and the coherence of the narrative
Sample question
Write a narrative essay on the topic. “A Place of Interest I Visited”
Outline
Heading: A PLACE OF INTEREST I VISITED
Paragraph 1: Description of the place you visited
Paragraph 2: Preparations made or put in place before the journey was embarked on.
Paragraph 3: The events that took place there
Paragraph 4: Narrate one spectacular event or incident that caught your attention or that affected you
Paragraph 5: (Conclusion) Narrate how it all ended
EVALUATION
Use the outline provided to write a full length essay.
READING ASSIGNMENT
Countdown in English, pg 5 – 6; Effective English, page 87.
WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
Section A
- By nature, armed robbers are ruthless: I have never seen a ________ one among them. A. humane B. barbarous C. ferocious
- The taxi driver slowed while overtaking the lorry when the proper thing to do was for him to have _________ A. accelerated B. negotiated C. throttled
- The probationary workers do not have the same right as __________ staff A. approved B. confirmed C. dismissed.
- The journey by road ___________ where the rail journey ended. A. commenced B. originated C. concluded.
- Instead of laughing about this serious matter, you should be ___________ A. whimpering B. bitter C. sober.
Section B
Practice 2, pg 73, Effective English.
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