Grammar Tidbit #6

When to use an apostrophe -s when showing possession

An apostrophe -s is added to a noun (person, place, thing, idea) to show ownership.
Let's start with examples that are singular.

The dog's collar is red.
The blog's background is pink.
The family's house is on fire.
The law's effects are uncertain.
The park's lights were broken.
New York City's mayor just resigned.
Love's joy is immeasurable.
Matt Bayley's blog is now being updated more regularly.

add an apostrophe -s even when the noun ends in an "s"

The moss's texture is fuzzy.
The lens's zoom was amazing.
Tess's hat is squashed.

EXCEPTIONS: No apostrophe -s after the names of Jesus, Moses, Xerxes, or Socrates to avoid the additional "s" sound or adding an additional syllable after words ending in an "eez" sound.

Jesus' twelve disciples were his closest followers.
Moses' brother was named Aaron.
Xerxes' defeat was certain.
Socrates' death was a suicide.

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IF you really care... When you use the phrase "for _______ sake," the noun in the middle will have an -s ending and should only require an apostrophe.

For goodness' sake, put that snake down!
For appearance' sake, we decided to paint the house.

Yes, yes, that is straight from my beloved grammar book from college. I freely admit to being an uber English language geek. I do in fact have a dictionary by my bed for the "must look up" moments during reading at bedtime, and Todd and I do have rousing discussions centering on grammar - he is, quite possibly, worse than I am about this...

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For plural nouns (or multiple people, places, things, ideas) it changes.
IF the word ends in an "s" only put an apostrophe.
IF it does not end in an "s" add an apostrophe -s.

The mice's cheese was poisoned.
The homes' builder was very proud.
The authors' signatures were unreadable.
The children's homework was too difficult.
My keys' location is unknown.
The Bayleys' family blog has many cute pictures on it.
Everyone's mood improves when it's sunny outside.
The calves' mother was named Old Bessy.

NO NEED to use an apostrophe when you are using a possessive personal pronoun (word that takes the place of a person's name/peoples' names) because it already shows possession.
my
mine
your
yours
his
hers
its
our
ours
their
theirs

Hope you are enjoying the sun! Woo HOO!

Grammar Tidbit #5

Your vs. You're
For definitions of possessive and contractions go here.

Much like "its" and "it's" it a matter of determining that:

"your" shows ownership
"you're" is a contraction of "you" and "are"

SO to make it simple...
IF you can substitute "you are" in the sentence and it makes sense, then use "you're."

Otherswise, show ownership and use your...



Other thoughts...
"Kid puke" is MUCH worse than "baby spit up..."
Few things are better than when your child gets over the stomach flu...

I've been thinking about how when we rinse Sarah at the end of her bath with the detachable shower head she usually gasps, and squirms away not wanting water to go over her face...EVEN THOUGH...we have repeatedly coached her and say, "Look up!" as we shield her face so the water rinses the soap from her hair - not letting it go into her eyes... How often is "rain" invading my world (be it irritants of myself/my own sin, others' actions/words,the weather, my season in life, etc.) and I gasp and squirm away as if it is the worst thing, but if only I would calm down and look to my Lord - He would shield my eyes so that I only see HIM, all of it would glide right off me and go down the drain...

Grammar Tidbit #4
- a poem -

The Phrase "a lot"

a lot

Two words.

Always.

Forever.

2 words, never one

'nuff said...

Ah, now you guys have encouraged me... Now I might actually post more than twice a month! =)

Grammar Tidbit #3

It's vs. Its

First, a few definitions...

Possessive: A word that shows possession or ownership.
Examples:
my iPod
their garage
his nose
her purse
sister's clothes
brother's baseball
parents' marriage
dog's tail
My heart was encouraged by their kind words.

Its is a possessive. It shows possession of something by a thing that is non-human.

Examples:
The dog wagged its tail. (The dog "owns" its tail)
The table has a scratch on its surface. (The table 'owns" its surface)
The flower had lost its fragrance. (The flower "owns" its fragrance)
Discipline has its own rewards. (Discipline "owns" rewards that come from being disciplined)

Now, this seems to break the rule of adding an " 's " to show possession, but like with most things, grammar breaks its own rules!

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Contraction: One word made from combining two words with an apostrophe taking the place of missing letters.
Examples:
Do not = don't
Cannot = can't
should not= shouldn't
does not = doesn't
would have = would've

It's is the contraction of "it" and "is." If you can substitute the words "it is" and the sentence still makes sense, then use it's.

Now I need to go help Todd clean out the garage... =)

Grammar Tidbit #2

When do I use "I" or "Me" when referring to myself in a sentence?

This confusion happens often, and I've noticed that people generally default to using "I" because they may think it sounds more "proper." Here are a few examples of how to determine this. I STILL mess this up in my speech, though in writing it's easier to stop and think about it.

Suggestion: Take the "other" person or people out of the sentence. If it still makes sense by itself, then you're correct!

Example:
My friends and I went to the best little cafe the other day. (correct)
My friends and me went to the best little cafe the other day. (incorrect)

Example when labeling a picture of multiple people:

The implied/understood sentence of the label is:
"This is Sally, Todd, and me at the party," but usually people just shorten it to:

Sally, Todd, and me. (correct)
Sally, Todd, and I. (incorrect)

Because IF you were to label the picture of just yourself, it is correct to say:
This is a picture of me.

Oh, and I forgot to say that as I'm doing this if anyone can think of a situation that I didn't cover or finds a mistake in what I'm saying PLEASE say something! I don't mind being corrected... =)

I'm not usually one who appreciates sarcasm, but for some reason this poster that one of Todd's coworkers made around the time of the flooding made me laugh and shake my head... Kind of like trying to bail out I-5 with a bucket with no bottom to it... Or keep up with dusting in a house with construction going on!
(as it is in my case.)

Click to enlarge

Copycat post: Okay, I'm just going to do it... Just in case you didn't see Amber's latest post/comment section.

I told Amber that I had been thinking about doing this post, but hadn't because it seemed a bit too "Snobby English Teacherish", however I'll trust that you all know I don't mean it that way...
(Perhaps I'll do a weekly installment so the confusion of:
"there", "their", and "they're" can get cleared up as well as "it's" and "its"... Who knows...)

Which way do you spell...

YA!

YEAH!

YAY!

YEA!

Kuddos to Christie for getting it correct!

The correct spelling is: Yay! As in: "Yay! It's Friday!"

Yeah: Instead of saying 'yes' when you agree with someone: Yeah, I need to get out more...

Yea: The opposite of 'Nay' when you are voting

Ya: the shortened version of 'you' as in, "Can I tell ya how much I love grammar?"

Now for the question... Do you want more of this? =)

Chaos

+ tons of prep work by Todd

+ a LOT of hard work/skill from
Collin and Todd on the new floor...

+ unexpected thoughtful/fun gift

= a fun birthday!

Funny how priorities can change/shift with time... It used to be that I hoped for flowers and a dinner out, but now, not so much... the floor starting to be laid and a fun surprise are great in my book! Thanks to everyone who wished me well!
(And thanks Amber B. for lending your husband to us today!)