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Writing effectively means being able to clearly state the points you want to make. In order to do this, you need to make sure you spell words and use grammar correctly. If you would like to brush up on your grammar, this exercise will help you.
Task
- Read through each of the phrases and sentences listed in this task sheet, correcting them where necessary.
- You can make your corrections over the text or rewrite the phrase or sentence in the space provided.
- Once you have done this, check your results against the answer sheet provided.
1. SALE NOW ON! Come inside for hundreds of reduced book’s.
2. Its party time. On Friday 20th June we are having a fancy dress night.
3. She was given one months notice after the disciplinary hearing.
4. Can you spare a few moments of you’re time for charity.
5. One in ten people are unaware that milk comes from cows.
6. Most people know that fruit and vegetables are essential for a healthy diet, however, few people eat enough of them.
7. The womens’ movement was at its height.
8. Senior special: Cream Tea’s.
9. National Bank – were happy to help.
10. Jims’ Cars
11. Mens Toilets
12. Please replace the basket’s after use.
13. Ladie’s Hairdresser
14. He came to the cinema with Bob and I last night.
15. Good food at it’s best.
16. Please state the name and address of the person who’s details are given overleaf.
17. Your 21 today!
18. Its raining cats and dogs.
19. Now their’s a surprise!
20. Your new dress looks really good on you.
Grammar Games – Answer Sheet
1. SALE NOW ON! Come inside for hundreds of reduced books.
In this example, the word ‘books’ was given an apostrophe before the ‘s’ by mistake. ‘Books’ is a regular plural and does not require an apostrophe, e.g. one book, two books, ten books.
2. It’s party time. On Friday 20th June we are having a fancy dress night.
In this example, the word ‘it’s’ was written without an apostrophe before the ‘s’. Here, ‘it’s’ is being used as an abbreviation of ‘it is’, i.e. ‘it is party time’. The word ‘its’ with no apostrophe means ‘of or belonging to’ it.
3. She was given one month’s notice after the disciplinary hearing.
Here, the word ‘month’ was written without an apostrophe in error. The apostrophe here is used to signal time or quantity. (Other examples of this are: ‘two weeks’ notice’, ‘six months’ leave’, ‘three pounds’ worth’. Note how the apostrophe follows the ‘s’ in the plural.)
4. Can you spare a few moments of your time for charity?
This example had two errors in it. First, this is a question and should end with a question mark, not a full stop. Second, the word ‘you’re’ was written instead of ‘your’. ‘Your’ is the correct word to use because the time in question belongs to you. The word ‘you’re’ is an abbreviation of ‘you are’, which would not make sense here.
5. One in ten people is unaware that milk comes from cows.
Remember what the subject of the sentence is. It is not ‘the people’ (plural), but ‘one in ten people’ (singular). Would you say ‘one person are aware’?
6. Most people know that fruit and vegetables are essential for a healthy diet. However, few people eat enough of them.
When used as an adverb to introduce a statement that contrasts with something that has been said previously, however should start a new sentence.
However (!), it is possible to use however in the middle of a sentence if you include it in a subordinate clause, as follows: ‘Most people know that fruit and vegetables are essential for a healthy diet. Few people, however, eat enough of them.’
The only other circumstance in which however should be used in the middle of a sentence is when it is used as a relative adverb, e.g: ‘He’ll never get there in time, however fast he drives.’
7. The women’s movement was at its height.
Here we had a possessor that does not end in ‘s’ in the plural, but had mistakenly been given an apostrophe after the ‘s’. If the possessor is plural, e.g. women, children, and does not end in an ‘s’ like regular plurals, possession must be signaled by an apostrophe before an ‘s’, for example, the children’s school.
8. Senior Special: Cream Teas.
In the task sheet the word teas was written with an apostrophe before the ‘s’. It is a simple plural and does not require an apostrophe at all. Other examples of this would be: oranges, apples, cars or trains.
9. National Bank – we’re happy to help
In the task sheet the word ‘we’re’ meaning ‘we are’ was written without an apostrophe. When the apostrophe is omitted, the word reads as ‘were’ and does not make sense.
10. Jim’s Cars
The cars mentioned here clearly belong to Jim and the name Jim should therefore have an apostrophe before the ‘s’, denoting possession, rather than after. Having an apostrophe after the ‘s’ would indicate that this man’s name is Jims. A singular possessive is required instead of a plural possessive.
11. Men’s Toilets
In the example on the task sheet, there was no apostrophe and therefore no possession. To show that the toilets belong to (are to be used by) men, the word ‘men’ should have an apostrophe before the ‘s’. The apostrophe comes before the ‘s’ because the word men does not end in ‘s’ in the plural. (See number 7 above.)
12. Please replace the baskets after use.
In the task sheet, this sentence was written with incorrect pluralisation. The plural of basket is baskets (with an ‘s’ at the end) and does not require an apostrophe. Placing an apostrophe before the ‘s’ indicates something belonging to a single basket.
13. Ladies’ Hairdresser
The title on the task sheet is clearly meant to indicate that the hairdresser belongs to (is to be used by) the ladies (in the plural). To show that the hairdresser is open to more than one single lady, write ‘ladies’. Then, to indicate possession, put an apostrophe after the ‘s’.
14. He came to the cinema with Bob and me last night.
‘I’ can only be used if it is the subject of the sentence. Here it is the indirect object of the sentence so should be ‘with Bob and me’. Think about it by removing Bob from the sentence. Would you say ‘He came to the cinema with I last night’? However, you should use ‘I’ if it is the subject of the sentence, e.g. Bob and I went to the cinema last night.
15. Good food at its best.
The example on the task sheet showed the incorrect use of the word ‘its’. The possessive pronoun ‘its’ does not take an apostrophe to denote possession – it is simply written as ‘its’. ‘It’s’ (with an apostrophe) is an abbreviation of ‘it is’. If you replace the word ‘it’s’ in the task sheet with the words ‘it is’, the sentence simply does not make sense.
16. Please state the name and address of the person whose details are given overleaf.
In the example given on the task sheet, the word ‘who’s’ was written instead of whose. ‘Who’s’ means ‘who is’ and is used in questions like ‘who’s coming?’ or ‘who’s next?’. In this sentence, it would not make sense to say ‘who is’ because the sentence refers to possession of the details. To indicate that the details belong to the person, the word ‘whose’ should be used.
17. You’re 21 today!
Here, an apostrophe should be inserted before the ‘r’ and an ‘e’ should be added after it. This is because this sentence is really saying ‘you are 21 today’. ‘Your’ means belonging to you and does not make sense in this sentence. Likewise, saying ‘your wonderful’ will leave the person wondering ‘my wonderful what?’.
18. It’s raining cats and dogs.
Like example 15, this sentence considers the common confusion between ‘its’ and ‘it’s’. In this example, there should be an apostrophe as ‘its’ is used in this sentence as an abbreviation of ‘it is’. There is no possession in this example so ‘its’ without an apostrophe is wrong.
19. Now there’s a surprise!
The example on the task sheet should say ‘there’s’ rather than ‘their’s’. ‘There’s’ is short for ‘there is’ and makes sense in this sentence. The word ‘their’ signals possession and should be used in phrases such as: their coats, their house, their holiday.
20. Your new dress looks really good on you.
This sentence was correct on the task sheet. The dress belongs to the person so it is correct to use ‘your’. Remember, ‘you’re’ means ‘you are’ and ‘you are dress looks really good on you’ is grammatically incorrect.
