1. Punctuation rules Apostrophes and dashes By Arundathie Abeysinghe Lecturer in English International Aviation Academy SriLankan Airlines 1 Arundathie Abeysinghe

2. Rule 1 Use apostrophes with contractions e.g. isnt, dont Theyre coming. To show plural possession, make the noun plural first. Then use an apostrophe. e.g. two children's hats two mens ties 2Arundathie Abeysinghe

3. Rule 3 Use apostrophes to show possession e.g. a girls hat Ms. Wetzels car Use apostrophes for nouns ending in s after the s e.g. Mr. Strauss car 3Arundathie Abeysinghe

4. Rule 4 Use an apostrophe and s after the second name if two people possess the same item e.g. Aditya and Monicas class will start next week. Use an apostrophe where the noun that should follow is implied. This was his daughters, not his house. 4Arundathie Abeysinghe

5. Rule 5 Use apostrophes for compound nouns to show possession e.g. My sister-in-laws office If the compound noun is plural, form the plural first and then use the apostrophe. e.g. My three sister-in-law's houses 5Arundathie Abeysinghe

6. Rule 6 Never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns e.g. his, hers, its, theirs, ours, yours Why ??? They already show possession They do not require an apostrophe An apostrophe is used for it's when it is a contraction for it is or it has 6Arundathie Abeysinghe

7. Dashes Rule 1 To indicate sudden changes in tone or thought or to insert a comment e.g. Monica is happy-we all are-about your good results. Arundathie Abeysinghe 7

8. Rule 2 Separate words in the middle of a sentence e.g. Tom Samuelthe chairmans most trusted financial advisorwill resign today after the press briefing. Arundathie Abeysinghe 8

9. Rule 3 To emphasize explanatory material e.g. The writer is by nature a dreamer-a conscious dreamer.-Carson McCullers Arundathie Abeysinghe 9

10. Rule 4 To indicate omitted letters or words e.g. Oh, sh -, I forgot to send the mail Arundathie Abeysinghe 10

11. Rule 5 To connect a beginning phrase to the rest of the sentence e.g. Michigan, USA; Sydney, Australia; Zurich, Switzerland these are ideal places to live. Arundathie Abeysinghe 11

12. Thank you! Arundathie Abeysinghe 12