, explain how to use an apostrophe to show possession for singular and plural nouns and to form contractions. (2 points)
To use an apostrophe to show possession for singular nouns, you place the apostrophe before the "s" at the end of the noun. For example, if you want to show possession of a book owned by John, you would write "John's book." Similarly, if you want to show possession of a car owned by Alex, you would write "Alex's car."
When it comes to plural nouns, if the plural form of the noun does not end in "s," you would also add an apostrophe before the "s." For instance, if you want to show possession of a book owned by several children, you would write "children's book." Or, to display possession of a house owned by women, you would write "women's house."
However, if the plural noun already ends with an "s," you simply add an apostrophe after the "s" without an additional "s." For example, if you want to show possession of the toys owned by the kids, you would write "kids' toys." Similarly, to display possession of the jackets owned by the athletes, you would write "athletes' jackets."
Regarding forming contractions, an apostrophe is used to combine two words by replacing one or more letters. These contractions are mainly used to shorten informal speech or writing. For instance, "do not" can be contracted to "don't," and "cannot" can be contracted to "can't." Another example is "is not" being contracted to "isn't." The apostrophe takes the place of the omitted letters in these contractions.