Choose the correct form--singular possessive, plural, or plural possessive--of the words in parentheses.
1. Pocahontas was the (king's***, kings, kings) dearest daughter.
2. (Pocahontas, Pocahontas's***, Pocahontas') kindness helped the settlers survive.
3. The twelve (guide's, guides, guides'***) quarters were in the forest.
4. The settlers gave (children's***, childrens, childrens') toys to the natives.
1. Correct
2. Incorrect
3. Correct
4. Incorrect
Geek Girl does not know of what she speaks. You are correct on all four. Note, though, that while "Pocahontas's" is correct, that rule may be changing to drop the second "s". The apostrophe is still correct.
I apologize.
To determine the correct form—singular possessive, plural, or plural possessive—of the words in parentheses, we need to understand the rules for each form:
1. Singular possessive: This form is used to indicate that something belongs to a single person or thing. It is usually formed by adding an apostrophe and an "s" ('s) to the end of a singular noun.
Example: "The king's dearest daughter" means that the daughter belongs to the king.
2. Plural: This form is used when there is more than one person or thing.
Example: "Kings" refers to multiple kings, not indicating possession.
3. Plural possessive: This form is used to indicate that something belongs to multiple people or things. It is usually formed by adding an apostrophe (') after the "s" if the noun is already plural.
Example: "Guides'" means that the quarters belong to multiple guides.
Now, let's apply these rules to the provided sentences:
1. Pocahontas was the (king's, kings, kings) dearest daughter.
The correct form here is "king's" because it indicates possession by a singular king.
2. (Pocahontas, Pocahontas's, Pocahontas') kindness helped the settlers survive.
The correct form here is "Pocahontas's" because it indicates possession by the singular proper noun "Pocahontas".
3. The twelve (guide's, guides, guides') quarters were in the forest.
The correct form here is "guides'" as it indicates possession by multiple guides and the noun "guides" is already plural.
4. The settlers gave (children's, childrens, childrens') toys to the natives.
The correct form here is "children's" as it indicates possession by multiple children.