English Punctuation: Apostrophe

 

The apostrophe probaly causes more grief than any of the other punctuation marks put together!

The problem nearly always seems to stem from users not understandingthat the apostrophe has two very different (and very important) uses in English.

  • to show possession and ownership - e.g. Jack's car. Mary's father.
  • to indicate a contraction - he's (he is), we're (we are), they're (they are)

These two examples show the apostrophe being used for possession (sentence 1) and contraction (sentence 2)

  • Colombia's coffee exports have risen steadily over the past decade.
  • Colombia's one of the main coffee producing countries in the world.

The POSSESSIVE APOSTROPHE

In most cases you simply need to add 's to a noun to show possession:

  • a ship's captain, a doctor's patient, a car's engine, Ibrahim's coat, Mirianna's book.

Plural nouns that do not end in s also follow this rule:

  • the children's room, the men's work, the women's club

Ordinary (or common) nouns that end in s, both singular and plural, show possession simply by adding an ' after the s but proper nouns (names of people, cities, countries etc.) can form the possessive either by adding the 's or simply adding the ':

  • a. The Hughes' home (or the Hughes's home), Mr Jones's shop (or Mr Jones' shop), Charles' book (or Charles's book)
  • b. the ladies' tennis club, the teachers' journal, the priests' church (note that the priest's church would only be refering to one priest while the priests' church refers to a group.)

General notes: Many people want to know how to form the possessive of their own name when it ends in an 's' or when refering to the whole family, e.g. The Jones' children.

Today it is no longer considered incorrect to use either form (Jones's or Jones') and many largeorganisations now drop the ' completely (e.g. Barclays Bank,Missing Persons Bureau) when publishing their name.

The APOSTROPHE for CONTRACTION

The most common use of contracted apostrophes is for:

  • has'nt = had not
  • can't = can not
  • there's = there is
  • mustn't = must not
  • I'm = I am
  • it's = it is
  • let's = let us
  • I've = I have (also they've, we've)
  • she's = she has or she is (also he's)

Remember:

  • it's = it is (a contraction) while its = possession
  • who's = who is (a contraction) while whose = possession
Quotes Period (full stop) Question Mark Exclamation Brackets Semicolon
Apostrophe Hyphen Capitals Comma Punctuation Home Grammar Home


تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:16 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

 The Exclamation Mark

 

The exclamation mark is used to express exasperation,astonishment or surprise or to emphasise a comment or short, sharp phrase.

Examples

  • Help! Help!
  • That's unbelievable!
  • Get out!
  • Look out!

You can also use it to mark a phrase as humourous, ironic or sarcastic.

  • 1. What a lovely day! (when it obviously is not a lovely day)
  • 2. That was clever! (when someone has done something stupid)

Some general remarks:

  • Don't overuse the exclamation mark
  • Don't include a series of exclamation marks. E.g., I'll never get it right!!!!
Quotes Period (full stop) Question Mark Exclamation Brackets Semicolon
Apostrophe Hyphen Capitals Comma Punctuation Home Grammar Home


تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:16 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

 The Question Mark

 

Use the question mark:

1. At the end of all direct questions

  • What is your name?
  • Do you speak Italian?
  • You're Spanish, aren't you?

2. Do not use the question mark for reported questions

  • He asked me what my name was.
  • She asked if I was Spanish.
  • Ask them where they are going.

General notes:

1. Don't forget to place a question mark at the end of long sentences that contain a question

  • Isn't it true that global warming is responsible for more and more problems which are having a disastrous effect on the world's climate and leading to many millions of people in countries that can least afford it having to contend with more and more hardship?

2. Sometimes a question mark can be placed within a sentence

  • There is cause for concern - isn't there? - that the current world economic balance is so fragile that it may lead to a global economic downturn.
 


تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:15 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

 The Comma

 

There are some general rules which you can apply when using the comma.

However, you will find that in English there are many other ways to use the comma to add to the meaning of a sentence or to emphasise an item, point or meaning.

Although we are often taught that commas are used to help us add 'breathing spaces' to sentences they are, in fact, more accurately used to organise blocks of thought or logical groupings. Most people will now use commas to ensure that meaning is clear and, despite grammatical rules, will drop the comma if their meaning is retained in the sentence.

A. Using the comma to separate phrases, words, or clauses in lists

1. a series of phrases

  • On my birthday I went to the cinema, ate dinner in a restaurant,and went dancing.

2. a series of nouns

  • The meal consisted of soup, fish, chicken, dessert and coffee.

3. a series of adjectives

  • She was young, beautiful, kind, and intelligent.
    Note: if an adjective is modifying another adjective you do not separate them with a comma - e.g. She wore a bright red shirt.

4. a series of verbs

  • Tony ran towards me, fell, yelled, and fainted.

5. a series of clauses

  • The car smashed into the wall, flipped onto its roof, slid along the road, and finally stopped against a tree.

B. Using the comma to enclose insertions or comments. The comma is placed on either side of the insertion.

  • China, one of the most powerful nations on Earth, has a huge population.

C. Use the comma to mark off a participial phrase

  • Hearing that her father was in hospital, Jane left work immediately.

D. Use the comma in 'tag questions'

  • She lives in Paris, doesn't she?
  • We haven't met, have we?

E. Use to mark off interjections like 'please', 'thank you', 'yes', and 'no'

  • Yes, I will stay a little longer, thank you.


General notes:

1. Misplacing a comma can lose friends!

Putting a comma in the wrong place can lead to a sentence with a completely different meaning, look at these two examples:

  • I detest liars like you, I believe that honesty is the best policy.
  • I detest liars, like you, I believe that honesty is the best policy.
Quotes Period (full stop) Question Mark Exclamation Brackets Semicolon
Apostrophe Hyphen Capitals Comma Punctuation Home Grammar Home


تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:14 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

The period (known as a full stop in British English) is probably the simplest of the punctuation marks to use.

You use it like a knife to cut the sentences to the required length. Generally, you can break up the sentences using the full stop at the end of a logical and complete thought that looks and sounds right to you. Use the full stop

1. to mark the end of a sentence which is not a question or an exclamation.

  • Rome is the capital of Italy.
  • I was born in Australia and now live in Indonesia.
  • The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.

2. to indicate an abbreviation

  • I will be in between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Note: Dr and Mr and Mrs and Ms do not take a full stop nor do most abbreviations taken from the first capital letters such as MA Phd CNN

3. special case - three dots

Often you will see a sentence concluding with three dots. This indicates that only part of the sentence or text has been quoted or that it is being left up to the reader to complete the rest of the sentence.

  • The Lord's Prayer begins, 'Our Father which are in Heaven...'

3. fullstop after a single word

Sometimes a single word can form the sentence. In this case you place a fullstop after the word as you would in any other sentence.

  • "Goodbye."
  • "Hello."

 

           
           


English Punctuation

 

Punctuation is used to create sense, clarity and stress in sentences.

You use punctuation marks to structure and organise your writing. The most common of these are the period (or full stop in British English), the comma, the exclamation mark, the question mark, the colon and semi-colon, the quote, the apostrophe, the hyphen and dash, and parentheses and brackets. Capital letters are also used to help us organise meaning and to structure the sense of our writing.

You can quickly see why punctuation is important if you try and read this sentence which has no punctuation at all:

perhaps you dont always need to use commas periods colons etc to make sentences clear when i am in a hurry tired cold lazy or angry i sometimes leave out punctuation marks grammar is stupid i can write without it and dont need it my uncle Harry once said he was not very clever and i never understood a word he wrote to me i think ill learn some punctuation not too much enough to write to Uncle Harry he needs some help

Now let's see if punctuating it makes a difference!

Perhaps you don't always need to use commas, periods, colons etc. to make sentences clear. When I am in a hurry, tired, cold, lazy, or angry I sometimes leave out punctuation marks.

"Grammar is stupid! I can write without it and don't need it." my uncle Harry once said. He was not very clever and I never understood a word he wrote to me. I think I'll learn some punctuation - not too much, enough to write to Uncle Harry. He needs some help!

Use the punctuation section to learn how to make your English clearer and better organised.

Quotes Period (full stop) Question Mark Exclamation Brackets Semicolon
Apostrophe Hyphen Capitals Comma Punctuation Home Grammar Home


تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:12 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Which is the 'best' English?

Trash or Rubbish? - Sorting out our English

Colour or color? Socks or sox? Organisations or Organizations? Underground or subway? Gas or petrol? Fall or Autumn? Candy or sweets? Cookie or biscuit? Centre or center, Trash or rubbish?

I've had a lot of furious emails from users about my terrible spelling. While I admit that the OEG may have had some glaring typos (fixed as soon as they were pointed out!) the emails are often concerned with spellings that are to do with regional differences in spoken and written English and not with my poor language skills. And they often come from readers who are convinced that there is only one 'good' English - theirs!

And we're living in a world where the frontiers between these 'regional differences' are becoming more and more blurred. Globalised mass communications, the Internet, an increasingly mobile workforce, and cheap international travel are all making us aware of an English language with many faces - a dynamic language, changing and moving with our times. Where the building blocks of the language - grammar, vocabulary, syntax - are plastic and dynamic and not rigid and static. Of course, if we still believe, as many of us were taught to believe at school, that there is only one English - ours! - then it may seem as if civilization as we'd like to keep knowing it is crumbling around our ears.

My family's experience is a good example of the way in which we are now exposed to a 'globalised' (should that be 'globalized'?) English and the cultural and geographic influences that contribute to our use of it: I was born in England, went to Australia when I was five, was entirely educated in Australia, spent several years in the USA and Canada, another eight in England and lived in France for over fifteen years. I married a Colombian, the common language at home is French, my wife speaks Spanish to our children, I speak English to them and they go to a French school. We live in a very small French village but have satellite TV with broadcasts from the USA and the UK, and ADSL Internet. My children's English is smattered with expressions and grammatical usage that comes from the USA and even from within fairly minority sub-sets of American English which they pick up from the music channels and YouTube, and they have kept traces of usage from our time in England. They use the Internet to chat with cousins and sisters in Australia where they use the truncated English that will surely develop one day into a recognised 'Internet English' (if it hasn't already!). Their English is a very different animal from mine and the shaping influences on it very different from those that shaped my own.

In my home, as in millions of others around the world, English is clearly a language that is moving and changing as fast as the times we live in. English speakers living in Bombay, Brighton or Boston are being exposed on an almost daily basis to the English used by their fellow English speakers around the globe.

Although we have a rich global mapping of English which makes it possible for English speakers to almost immediately fix a fellow English speaker to a geographical area, there is more that is similar among these English variations than is dissimilar. If there wasn't, English speakers from different parts of the world would have absolutely no hope of understanding each other! In most cases it is pronunciation and idiomatic expressions, not vocabulary or grammar that makes a fellow English speaker from anotherpart of the world, or sometimes even another part of the country, difficult to understand.

In the Online English Grammar I am open to the international and evolving character of English and, try at least, to highlight the differences between British and American English where they appear. I am always happy to receive new examples of these differences from users of the OEG!

I point out grammatical rules that may vary slightly depending on where you are as well as differences in spelling and usage. And have listed some of the main spelling variations between British and American English in an appendix.

The important thing to remember is that while spelling 'remember' as 'rember' is definitely wrong, spelling 'socks' as 'sox' is not! That saying 'She speak English really well' is definitely wrong wherever you are (the verb 'speak' must be third person 'speaks' or used in another tense such as 'spoke'), saying 'She speaks English real well' may not bewrong (it is acceptable to use 'real' rather than 'really' in informal American English.)

This may also slow the flow of emails from angry users who think it is a disgrace that I consistently spell 'center' as 'centre' - am I dyslexic?



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:10 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Forming the possessive

The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. 'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is one of the relationships it expresses :

  • John owns a car. ('John' is the possessor or owner)
  • It is John's car.

 

  • America has some gold reserves. ('America' is the owner)
  • They are America's gold reserves.

It can also express other relationships, for example:

where someone works or studies or spends time:

  • John goes to this school. This is John's school.
  • John sleeps in this room. This is John's room.

a family relationship:

  • John's mother
  • The Queen's daughter

qualities:

  • John'spatience.
  • The politician's hypocrisy.

Form

To form the possessive, add 's('apostrophe -s') to the noun.
If the noun is plural, or already ends in -s, just add:' (an apostrophe).

For names ending in -s:

In speaking we add the sound /z/ to the name, but in writing it is possible to use either 'sor just '. The 's form is more common. e.g. Thomas's book, James's shop.

Examples

  • The car of John = John's car.
  • The room of the girls = The girls' room.
  • Clothes for men = Men's clothes.
  • The sister of Charles = Charles' sister.
  • The boat of the sailors = The sailors' boat.

There are also some fixed expressions where the possessive form is used:

Time expressions Other expressions
a day's work For God's sake!
a fortnight's holiday a pound's worth of apples.
a month's pay the water's edge
today's newspaper a stone's throw away (= very near)
in a year'stime at death's door (= very ill)
  in my mind's eye (= in my imagination)

The possessive is also used to refer to shops, restaurants, churches and colleges, using the name or job title of the owner.

Examples

the grocer's the doctor's the vet's
the newsagent's the chemist's Smith's
the dentist's Tommy Tucker's Luigi's
Saint Mary's Saint James's  
  1. Shall we go to Luigi's for lunch?
  2. I've got an appointment at the dentist's at eleven o'clock.
  3. Is Saint Mary's an all-girls school?


تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:10 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |
  1. Country:I live in England.
  2. Adjective:He reads English literature.
  3. Noun: She is an Englishwoman.

COUNTRY

ADJECTIVE

NOUN

Africa

African

an African

America

American

an American

Argentina

Argentinian

an Argentinian

Austria

Austrian

an Austrian



ادامه مطلب

Names of streets, buildings, parks etc.

Park Lane

Central Avenue

Pall Mall

George Street

Sydney Opera House

Central Park

Hyde Park

the Empire State Building

Wall Street



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:8 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Adjectives relating to nationality nouns

France - French music

Australia - Australian animals

Germany - German literature

Arabia - Arabic writing

Indonesia - Indonesian poetry

China - Chinese food



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:8 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Names of geographical formations

the Himalayas

the Alps

the Sahara



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:8 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Names of rivers, oceans, seas, lakes etc.

the Atlantic

the Dead Sea

the Pacific

Lake Leman

Lake Victoria

Lake Michigan

the Rhine

the Thames

the Nile



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:7 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Names of cities, towns, villages etc.

London

Cape Town

Rome

Florence

Bath

Wagga Wagga

Vancouver

Wellington

Peking



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:7 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Names of regions, states, districts etc.

Sussex

California

Queensland

Provence

Tuscany

Vaud

Florida

Costa Brava

Tyrol



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:7 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Geographical names...
Names of countries and continents

America

England

Scotland

China

Peru

Albania

Africa

Europe

Asia



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:7 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Holidays

Christmas

Easter

New Year's Day

Boxing Day

May Day

Thanksgiving Day



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:6 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Seasons

Seasons
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter


تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:6 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Days of the week

Monday

Friday

Tuesday

Saturday

Wednesday

Sunday

Thursday



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:6 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Months of the year

January

July

February

August

March

September

April

October

May

November

June

December



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:5 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

COMPOUND NOUNS

COMPOUND NOUNS

Formation

Words can be combined to form compound nouns. These are very common, and new combinations are invented almost daily. They normally have two parts. The second part identifies the object or person in question (man, friend, tank, table, room). The first part tells us what kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is (police, boy, water, dining, bed):

What type / what purpose What or who
police man
boy friend
water tank
dining table
bed room

The two parts may be written in a number of ways :

1. as one word.
Examples policeman, boyfriend

2. as two words joined with a hyphen.
Examples dining-table

3. as two separate words.
Examples fish tank.

There are no clear rules about this - so write the common compounds that you know well as one word, and the others as two words.

The two parts may be: Examples
noun + noun bedroom
water tank
motorcycle
printer cartridge
noun + verb rainfall
haircut
train-spotting
noun + adverb hanger-on
passer-by
verb + noun washing machine
driving licence
swimming pool
verb + adverb* lookout
take-off
drawback
adjective + noun greenhouse
software
redhead
adjective + verb dry-cleaning
public speaking
adverb + noun onlooker
bystander
adverb + verb* output
overthrow
upturn
input

Compound nouns often have a meaning that is different from the two separate words.

Stress is important in pronunciation, as it distinguishes between a compound noun (e.g. greenhouse) and an adjective with a noun (e.g. green house).

In compound nouns, the stress usually falls on the first syllable:

a 'greenhouse = place where we grow plants (compound noun)
a green 'house = house painted green (adjective and noun)
a 'bluebird = type of bird (compound noun)
a blue 'bird = any bird with blue feathers (adjective and noun)

*Many common compound nouns are formed from phrasal verbs (verb + adverb or adverb + verb).

Examples

breakdown, outbreak, outcome, cutback, drive-in, drop-out, feedback, flyover, hold-up, hangover, outlay, outlet, inlet, makeup, output, set-back, stand-in, takeaway, walkover.



تاريخ : پنج شنبه 27 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:4 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

در این پست کتاب 1400 واژه انگلیسی ضروری رو براتون قرار دادم که برای دوستان تافلی هم بسیار جذاب و کاربردی هستش و پیشنهاد میکنم حتما دانلودش کنید:

دانلود کتاب 1400 واژه ضروری در زبان انگلیسی به همراه ترجمه فارسی: 2 مگابایت



تاريخ : جمعه 7 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 12:12 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

Proverbs

 

در این قسمت حدود ۵۰۰ اصطلاح انگلیسی با ترجمه فارسی براتون گذاشتیم

ددانلود 500 اصطلاح انگلیسی: 250 کیلوبایت 

 

(برای مشاهده ی مطالب بر روی ادامه ی مطلب کلیک کنید)



ادامه مطلب
تاريخ : جمعه 7 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 12:9 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

سلام دوستان عزیز.در این قسمت در مورد یکی از مسائل روزمره ای که قطعا جزو جدایی ناژذیر زندگی ما انسان ها هست مطالبی آماده کردم و اون هم درمورد پیام تسلیت یا همدردی برای دوستان هست.

در انگلیسی پیام تسلیت و یا پیام تبریک نوشتن سبک خاصی داره و ما در این پست فعلا به چند نمونه پیام تسلیت و نمونه نوشته اشاره می کنیم و امیدوارم دوستانی که درخواست داده بودن از این مطالب استاده کنن و مفید واقع بشه.(البته ان شاالله همتون خندون و سالم و سرزنده باشید)

قبل از خوندن این مطالب از دوستان خواهش میکنم که اگه مطالب در این مورد داشتید برامون ارسال کنید که بتونیم مثال های متاسب و راهکارهای متفاوتی رو ارائه کنیم.

 مثلا برای کسی که عزیزی رو از دست داده میشه همچین پیامی فرستاد:

 

1- we are so sorry and you have our deepest sympathies on the teath of your father.our thoughts are with you and your family.

2- Our thoughs and prayers are with you.

3- Words cannot even begin to express our sorrow.

4- I am so sorry for your loss.

5- I was deeply saddened to hear of your loss.

6- Please accept my heartfelt sympath on the passing of your .... .



تاريخ : جمعه 7 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 12:5 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

 

Among the people there are killers who have not yet
shed blood, and thieves who have stolen nothing.

در میان مردم هستند آدم کشانی که هنوز خونی نریخته اند
و دزدانی که هنوز چیزی ندزدیده اند.

 

Deliver me from he who does not tell the truth unless he stings; and from the man of good conduct and bad intentions; and from him who acquires self-esteem by finding fault in others

(پروردگارا) مرا از دست آن کس رها کن که حقیقت را نمی گوید مگر برای آنکه نیشی بزند٬ و از دست آدمی که کاری نیک می کند و نیتی بد در سر می پروراند٬ و از دست کسی که با عیب جویی از دیگران عزت نفسی برای خود دست و پا می کند.



ادامه مطلب
 

                              

Procrastination is the thief of time

تعویق دزد وقت است


ادامه مطلب
تاريخ : جمعه 7 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:52 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |

 

She Walks In BeautyShe walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade more, one ray less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Lord Byron  1788-1824



تاريخ : جمعه 7 شهريور 1393برچسب:, | 11:51 | نویسنده : sahar teacher |