©THESTAR 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11:32AM. A+
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Study Guide.
Adjectives - Answer✔describe nouns by answering one of these three questions: What kind is
it? How many are there? Which one is it? An adjective can be a single word, a phrase, or a
clause.
noun - Answer✔a word or set of words for a person, place, thing, or idea.
compound noun - Answer✔A noun of more than one word (tennis court, gas station)
common nouns - Answer✔words for a general class of people, places, things, and ideas (man,
city, award, honesty). They are not capitalized.
proper nouns - Answer✔always capitalized, they name specific people, places, and things (Joe,
Chicago, Academy Award).
Use the apostrophe to.... - Answer✔to show possession. With a singular noun, add an
apostrophe plus the letter s.
Examples:
a woman's hat
the boss's wife
Mrs. Chang's house
rules for common nouns that end in the letter s (lens, cactus, bus, etc.). - Answer✔add an
apostrophe + s ('s) to common nouns ending in s,
the class's hours
the canvas's size
rules for proper nouns (Mr. Jones, Texas, Christmas) that end in the letter s. - Answer✔add a
stand-alone apostrophe to proper nouns ending in s.
Mr. Jones' golf clubs
1
, ©THESTAR 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11:32AM. A+
Texas' weather
Regular nouns are nouns that form their plurals by adding either the letter s or -es (guy, guys;
letter, letters; actress, actresses; etc.). To show plural possession, simply put an apostrophe
after the s. - Answer✔Correct: guys' night out (guy + s + apostrophe)
Incorrect: guy's night out (implies only one guy)
Correct: two actresses' roles (actress + es + apostrophe)
Incorrect: two actress's roles
Do not use an apostrophe + s to make a regular noun plural.
Incorrect: Apostrophe's are confusing.
Incorrect: We've had many happy Christmas's. - Answer✔Correct: Apostrophes are confusing.
Correct: We've had many happy Christmases.
English also has many irregular nouns (child, nucleus, tooth, etc.). These nouns become plural
by changing their spelling, sometimes becoming quite different words.
Incorrect: two childrens' hats
Incorrect: the teeths' roots - Answer✔The plural is children, not childrens.
Correct: two children's hats (children + apostrophe + s)
Correct: the teeth's roots
possessive plurals of proper names ending in s, such as Hastings and Jones
If you're the guest of the Ford family—the Fords—you're the Fords' guest (Ford + s +
apostrophe). But what if it's the Hastings family?
Most would call them the "Hastings." But that would refer to a family named "Hasting." If
someone's name ends in s, we must add -es for the plural. The plural of Hastings is Hastingses.
The members of the Jones family are the Joneses. - Answer✔To show possession, add an
apostrophe.
Incorrect: the Hastings' dog
2
, ©THESTAR 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11:32AM. A+
Correct: the Hastingses' dog (Hastings + es + apostrophe)
Incorrect: the Jones' car
Correct: the Joneses' car
Never use an apostrophe to make a name plural.
incorrect: The Wilson's are here.
Incorrect: We visited the Sanchez's. - Answer✔Correct: The Wilsons are here.
Correct: We visited the Sanchezes.
With a singular compound noun (for example, mother-in-law), show possession with an
apostrophe + s at the end of the word. - Answer✔Example: my mother-in-law's hat
If the compound noun (e.g., brother-in-law) is to be made plural, form the plural first (brothers-
in-law), and then use the apostrophe + s. - Answer✔Example: my two brothers-in-law's hats
If two people possess the same item, put the apostrophe + s after the second name only. -
Answer✔Example: Cesar and Maribel's home is constructed of redwood.
If two people possess the same item, put the apostrophe + s after the second name only.
However, if one of the joint owners is written as a pronoun, use the possessive form for both.
When one of the co-owners is written as a pronoun, use possessive adjectives (my, your, her,
our, their). Avoid possessive pronouns (mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs) in such constructions. -
Answer✔Incorrect: Maribel and my home
Incorrect: Mine and Maribel's home
Correct: Maribel's and my home
Incorrect: he and Maribel's home
Incorrect: him and Maribel's home
Correct: his and Maribel's home
3
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Study Guide.
Adjectives - Answer✔describe nouns by answering one of these three questions: What kind is
it? How many are there? Which one is it? An adjective can be a single word, a phrase, or a
clause.
noun - Answer✔a word or set of words for a person, place, thing, or idea.
compound noun - Answer✔A noun of more than one word (tennis court, gas station)
common nouns - Answer✔words for a general class of people, places, things, and ideas (man,
city, award, honesty). They are not capitalized.
proper nouns - Answer✔always capitalized, they name specific people, places, and things (Joe,
Chicago, Academy Award).
Use the apostrophe to.... - Answer✔to show possession. With a singular noun, add an
apostrophe plus the letter s.
Examples:
a woman's hat
the boss's wife
Mrs. Chang's house
rules for common nouns that end in the letter s (lens, cactus, bus, etc.). - Answer✔add an
apostrophe + s ('s) to common nouns ending in s,
the class's hours
the canvas's size
rules for proper nouns (Mr. Jones, Texas, Christmas) that end in the letter s. - Answer✔add a
stand-alone apostrophe to proper nouns ending in s.
Mr. Jones' golf clubs
1
, ©THESTAR 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11:32AM. A+
Texas' weather
Regular nouns are nouns that form their plurals by adding either the letter s or -es (guy, guys;
letter, letters; actress, actresses; etc.). To show plural possession, simply put an apostrophe
after the s. - Answer✔Correct: guys' night out (guy + s + apostrophe)
Incorrect: guy's night out (implies only one guy)
Correct: two actresses' roles (actress + es + apostrophe)
Incorrect: two actress's roles
Do not use an apostrophe + s to make a regular noun plural.
Incorrect: Apostrophe's are confusing.
Incorrect: We've had many happy Christmas's. - Answer✔Correct: Apostrophes are confusing.
Correct: We've had many happy Christmases.
English also has many irregular nouns (child, nucleus, tooth, etc.). These nouns become plural
by changing their spelling, sometimes becoming quite different words.
Incorrect: two childrens' hats
Incorrect: the teeths' roots - Answer✔The plural is children, not childrens.
Correct: two children's hats (children + apostrophe + s)
Correct: the teeth's roots
possessive plurals of proper names ending in s, such as Hastings and Jones
If you're the guest of the Ford family—the Fords—you're the Fords' guest (Ford + s +
apostrophe). But what if it's the Hastings family?
Most would call them the "Hastings." But that would refer to a family named "Hasting." If
someone's name ends in s, we must add -es for the plural. The plural of Hastings is Hastingses.
The members of the Jones family are the Joneses. - Answer✔To show possession, add an
apostrophe.
Incorrect: the Hastings' dog
2
, ©THESTAR 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11:32AM. A+
Correct: the Hastingses' dog (Hastings + es + apostrophe)
Incorrect: the Jones' car
Correct: the Joneses' car
Never use an apostrophe to make a name plural.
incorrect: The Wilson's are here.
Incorrect: We visited the Sanchez's. - Answer✔Correct: The Wilsons are here.
Correct: We visited the Sanchezes.
With a singular compound noun (for example, mother-in-law), show possession with an
apostrophe + s at the end of the word. - Answer✔Example: my mother-in-law's hat
If the compound noun (e.g., brother-in-law) is to be made plural, form the plural first (brothers-
in-law), and then use the apostrophe + s. - Answer✔Example: my two brothers-in-law's hats
If two people possess the same item, put the apostrophe + s after the second name only. -
Answer✔Example: Cesar and Maribel's home is constructed of redwood.
If two people possess the same item, put the apostrophe + s after the second name only.
However, if one of the joint owners is written as a pronoun, use the possessive form for both.
When one of the co-owners is written as a pronoun, use possessive adjectives (my, your, her,
our, their). Avoid possessive pronouns (mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs) in such constructions. -
Answer✔Incorrect: Maribel and my home
Incorrect: Mine and Maribel's home
Correct: Maribel's and my home
Incorrect: he and Maribel's home
Incorrect: him and Maribel's home
Correct: his and Maribel's home
3
