Learn French 100% free Get 1 free lesson per week // Add a new lesson
Log in!

> Log in <
New account
Millions of accounts created on our sites.
JOIN our free club and learn French now!




Get a free French lesson every week!

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Print
  • Guestbook
  • Report a bug


  •  



    Use/ apostrophe

    Forum > English only || Bottom

    [POST A NEW REPLY] [Subscribe to this topic]


    Use/ apostrophe
    Message from simone90 posted on 04-04-2018 at 18:24:11 (D | E | F)
    Hello everyone!
    Would like to have some tips on how to know when the apostrophe is necessary in English. According to what I've learned from English courses/materials, apostrophes are usually used to show possession. Although it may be tricky to me because these two expressions are translated exactly the same in Portuguese: cement efficiency and cement's efficiency
    For exemple, now I am working on a scientific paper and I've got this sentence: the co-product efficiency was confirmed.
    In this case, I should rather write co-product's efficiency?
    Could anyone help me on that, please?
    Thanks

    -------------------
    Edited by lucile83 on 04-04-2018 22:37


    Re: Use/ apostrophe from gerondif, posted on 04-04-2018 at 19:06:27 (D | E)
    Hello,
    Normally, the genitive case applies when a human being is the owner:
    The room of your sister becomes your sister's room.
    The rooms of your sisters becomes your sisters' rooms.
    's used to be used in expressions of :
    duration: a two hours' film
    distance: a twenty miles' run
    price: twenty pounds' worth of food
    date : today's paper

    But you can also use a compound-noun :
    a ten metres'yacht has a tendency to become a ten-metre-long yacht, where metre can't be put into the plural as it is adjectival.
    I would prefer the co-product efficiency because product is not a human being.
    I know that you might meet "the door's handle" and so on but still....



    Re: Use/ apostrophe from simone90, posted on 04-04-2018 at 21:01:21 (D | E)
    Thank you! It was really helpful! I appreciated it



    Re: Use/ apostrophe from frank00scap, posted on 20-04-2018 at 00:51:00 (D | E)
    Hello,
    An apostrophe is also used when forming a contraction with verbs.
    I am fine.
    I'm fine.

    We have arrived.
    We've arrived.

    The apostrophe indicates that letters are missing.
    An apostrophe is also used in correctly written bad English, as in the dialog of a novel.
    I came because you called.
    I came 'cause you called: the "be" is missing when the character says 'cause.
    But, be careful, because "cause" to mean "because" when you write in a chat is totally wrong. The word "cause" is a noun meaning "reason." For example, the cause of the war was a dispute over water rights.
    To say 'cause in a conversation is also wrong...it is bad English... but is common slang. You can use it with your friends, but if you use it in a job interview, the interviewer will assume you really don't know English well enough for the job.

    -------------------
    Edited by lucile83 on 20-04-2018 07:35




    [POST A NEW REPLY] [Subscribe to this topic]


    Forum > English only