Tuyển chọn các bộ đề thi chứng chỉ A, B tiếng anh và 10 bí quyết để đạt điểm cao trong các kỳ thi: Phần 2

Most roots come from ancient Greek and section ONE WORD BASICS Latin words like deni, meaning people, for example, and many have become quite common in the English language Prefixes and

Muc 1: T h a n h p h a n co' b a n cua tu1

SECTION TJJO: SPG LUNG STRATEGICS

Muc 2: C h ie n lito'c v ie t dung

SECTION THREE: THE GOOF-PROOF RULES

Muc 3: Quy tac can nhd de viet dung

SECTION FOUR: RESOJRCE

1 4 6

Pretest

Mark each word below as spelled correctly or incorrectly with a check

W hen you are finished you can check your answers in the Answer Key on page 212

WORI) CORRECT INCORRECT

19 persue

-20 millennium

-21 fourth / —— 22 grammer — — 23 especially 24 necessary — 25 frequint

-26 eighi

-27 consistency

-28 perceive

-29 liaison \J

-30 catagory

-31 harrass

-32 fundemental

-33 stopped 1/

-34 cheap 1/

-35 rcferance

-36 balance i -

-37 jexvelery IN

-38 committee

-39 intermural

-40 thinking

-41 correction

-42 survivel

-43 simultaneous U

WORI) CORRECT INCORRECT

S e c tio n O N E

M L i

WORD BASICS

Thanh p h a n cd b a n ciia tit

■ W O R D P A R TS - C ac th a n h phan cua tiif

A word is a word, right? Well vcs But a word also can consist of parts These arc roots, prefixes, and suffixes They comprise almost all words in the English language The root is the part of a word that holds the meaning Most roots come from ancient Greek and section ONE WORD BASICS

Latin words (like deni, meaning people, for example), and many have

become quite common in the English language

Prefixes and suffixes can be thought of as root add-ons They change or enhance the meaning of the root (which may or may not be able to stand on

its own as a word) A prefix, as the prefix pre- suggests, is a part placed at

the beginning of a word A suf- fix, on the other hand, is placed at the end

of a word A suffix will often signify how the word is being used and its part of speech

Common roots, prefixes, and suffixes are outlined in the following tables Use these tables as references to help improve your understanding of word basics

Roots - G dc t il

This list is provided to help you become familiar with the common roots—

so don't let it intimidate you! You might look at the list and think "This is too long, 1 will never learn all of these roots." Fear not! You don't need lo learn them all you just need to start to recogni/e the most common roots Once you've done that, you can begin to build upon that knowledge

1 5 0

ROOT MEANING E X A M PLE

agon struggle, contest a g o n i/e agony

aud hear audible, auditorium

bell war antebellum , bellicose

ben good beneficial, benevolent

bio life biography, bionic

cap head decapitate, capitol

ceil go precede, antecedent

cis to cut incisor, incision

contra against contradict, contrary

creJ believe incredulous, credible

deni people democracy, demographicdue lead induce, conduct

fer bear, carry transfer, ferry

f i d faith fidelity, infidel

flu x I flu flow fluctuate, influx

gen race or kind generation, genealogygilt) / cog to know gnostic, cognoscenti

o r(J a

.*>' c ,*> crowd egregious, gregarious

ject to throw, send

phi! love anglophile philanthropy

rog to ask interrogate, prerogative

simul copy simulate, facsimile

soph

sophistication

wisdom p h i l o s o p h y ,

spic / spec see speculate, suspicious

tan / tac / tig touch tactile, tangent

ten hold tenacity, pretend

tract draw, pull attract, detract

trib to give tribute, attribute

urb city suburban, urbane

ver truth veracity, verify

vid sec evidence, vivid

17 V life survival, vivacious

ante before antecedent, antemeridian

anti against antipathy, antihistamine

hi two binoculars, bicycle

circum around circumference.circum spect

con with, together conference, contribute

contr against controversy

de down, away from deplete, denote

dec ten decimal, decim ate

dis not opposite of disengaged, disloyal

eu good, well euphoric, euphem ism

ex out of away from extract, e x h u m e

hyper above hyperbole, hyperactive

hypo below hypocrite, hypodermic

il not opposite i I logic, illegal

inter between intermittent, interplay

intra within intranet, intramural

null bad malady, malcontent

post after postmortem, postwar

pre before preview, prepare

pro before proceed, progress

re again review, repent

retro back, again retrograde, retroactive

sub under substrate, sublimate

syn with, together synthesis, synonym

trans across transmit, transfer

tri three triumvirate, triad

un not unable, unacceptable

Many prefixes have similar or the same meanings, such as dis-, il-, and un- They are not always interchangeable, however, because their subtle differences will either change the meaning of a word, or simply make

it wrong The former is the case with disable and unable While their meanings are similar, there is a difference Disable means to deprive

of capability or effectiveness, especially to impair the physical abilities

of, and make unable to perform a certain action Unable, on [he other hand, means lacking the necessary power, authority, or means; not able; incapable, and lacking mental or physical capability or efficiency; incompetent

As you grow familiar with the meanings and nuances of prefixes, you will become better equipped to choose the correct one to use in every situation

G o o f-p ro o f a c tiv ity - B ai ta p vS goc tu

Test yourself! Write out at least three words - that aren't included on the prefix list— for each of the following prefixes

anti- hi- con '•uh- tri- mal- pre- ex- inter-

dis-1 5 4

[ Q U IZ ] - C au hoi tr a c n g h ie m k ie n th iic

Circle the correct prefix used in each of the following sentences

1 Sylvia was unheartened/ disheartened to learn that she was wait listed

at State University

2 The p r e te s t/p r o te s t was difficult for everyone because they hadn't yet

learned algebra

3 Stealing was antethetical /a n tith e tic a l to her beliefs

4 He felt constant pain in his arm after hypoextending / hyperextendin%

-escence slate of adolescence.obsolcscence

-ism state or doctrine of Catholicism, materialism

-ist one who believes in idealist, anarchist

-ity state of being humility, civility

-ment quality commitment, impediment

-ology study of geology, biology

-tion act or state of isolation, contraction

-y.-ry state of mimicry, bigotry

A D J E C T I V E E N D IN G S - Hau toe cua tmh tuf

SUFFIX M E A N IN G E X A M P L E

-uhle capable, able perishable, culpable

-inn one who is or does mathematician, pediatrician

-ic causing, making caustic, nostalgic

-He pertaining to senile, futile

-ious having the quality of religious, delicious

-ire having the nature of passive, furtive

le ' s without fearless, relentless.

ADJECTIVE ENDINGS - Hau toe ciia ti'nh ttf

SUFFIX M EAN IN G EXAM PI.E ~

-ate to make punctuate, decorate

-ify to make mummify, pacify

-ize to bring about realize, summarize

[ Q U IZ ] - Cau hoi tra c n g h ie m k ie n thufc

Circle the correct part of speech for each suffix

-ist noun / verb / adjective

-ify noun / verb / adjective

-olo^y noun / verb / adjective

-ile noun / verb / adjective

-lion noun / verb / adjective

-able noun / verb / adjective

-ions noun / verb / adjective

-less noun / verb / adjective

-ize noun / verb / adjective

-ism noun / verb / adjective

-ic noun / verb / adjective

■ S Y L L A B L E S - Am tiet

A syllable is a unit of a word that is pronounced as an uninterrupted sound Every word can be broken into syllables, although some contain only one

syllable One for exam ple, is a onesyllable word Syllable, though, has

three syllables, svl / la / ble

Breaking words into their syllables can be helpful in sounding words out and in managing long or unfamiliar words Often, long words can seem intimidating W hen broken into smaller syllables, however, they become m anageable and more easily understood

H ere are some rules to consider when breaking words into syllables

are misusing too instead of two because both words are spelled correctly

With homophones, you need to be aw are of your word usage I.carn the common hom ophones and iheir meanings Then, pay attention w hen you use a word that has a homophone Every time you write one double check yourself to make sure you are using the correct word

Here is a list of common homophones to review II you are unfamiliar with any of the homophones, do yourself a lavor and look up the definitions

of these words in your dictionary now

affect, effect none.nun

all awl oai ore

altar, alter pail, pale

bare, bear passed, past

bloc, block peak, peek

boar, bore peal, peel

buy by bvc piece, peace

capital, capitol plain, plane

caret, carrot, carat read, red

cite, site read, reed

coarse, course right, rite, write

cord, chord role, roll

descent, dissent sheer, shear

die, dye sleigh, slay

dual, duel soar, sore

faux, foe spade, spayed

heal, heel some, sum

knighl night team, teem

know, no their, there, they're­

led, lead tied, tide

male, mail lo loo two

mall, maul vale, veil

minor, miner vane, vein

wail, whale which, witch

wave, waive weak, week

[ Q U IZ ] - C au ho i t r i e n g h ie m k ie n th iic

Com plete the sentences by circling the correct homophone

l The loo girls w eie shopping for prom dresses

1 5 8

2 She couldn't hare to see her son cry

3 We waited outside for hours just to get a sneak peak / peck

4 Emily was thrilled that sht st her French exam

5 He wanted a bux/-eul to alter / altar his appearance

exam

6 Are we meeting ynce or twice a week'/w eak'' 7 W'e will decide what to

do after rolp / roll call

8 1 had to stop running after 1 hurt my hea’ / heel

9 I don't like the roars A / course texture of corn bread

10 Tom carried the nail pule, o f water for two miles

Feeling confident that you have bolstered your word fundam entals? Good! Now w e will move on to applying those fundam entals in the following sections

S e c tio n TW O

fJL.i

Spelling Strategies

Chien h(dc viet dung

Employing a few simple strategies will shorten the amount of time il will take you to goof-proof your spelling Think about these strategies as you would think about any plan— they are steps for you to take to reach your ultimate goal

■ LE A R N T H E G O O F-PRO O F R U LE S - Hoc cac quy t i c

de v ie t dung

This is simple G oof-Proof Spelling is the book: of course you need to learn

the Goof-Proof Rules This does not mean that you can read through the

rules and expect to see immediate improvement You need to learn the

Goof-Proof Rules There is a difference

Learning the G o o f-P ro o f Rules will involve taking the quizzes that accompany some of the rules, and using the techniques outlined in this section When you begin to learn the Goof-Proof Rules, you may want to target one or two rules to learn each week Then, during the week, you can focus your attention on those rules, applying them to your everyday life Dedicate yourself to learning the rules and you will be a goof-proof speller

in no time!

■ U S E M N E M O N IC S - Dung th u a t nhd

Don't let the spelling ol this word scare you mnemonics is a simple concept Meaning "memory aid." mnemonics can be handy for helping \o u rem em ber spelling rules, or how to spell particularly trick\ words The

16 0

idea behind mnemonics is thal people rem em ber besl when more than one function of the hrain is used lo process information

Simple mnemonics can be created from rhymes, tunes, or acronyms

You may recall the acronym Roy G Biv the grade school mnemonic used

when learning the colors of the spectrum (red orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) Mental pictures and stories are also useful mnemonics

For exam ple, as a young student 1 was corrected for writing ulot instead

of a lot The mnemonic that 1 created to rem em ber the correct spelling is a

mental image of a large little league field In the middle of the field stands enormous block letters in the form of A LOT Thai image has helped me lo

avoid using the incorrect alot in my writing The image may noi make a lot

of sense to you but it works, in pari because il is odd

There are many mnemonics lhat apply to spelling For exam ple, '/before

E except after C ” a rhyme to help you rem em ber when lo use IF or El

You can create your own mnemonics to learn specific words or spelling rules

Here are some tips on creating mnemonics thal will be easy to remember and therefore, useful (if you c an't even rem e m b e r your mnemonic, it won't help you to rem em ber your spelling!):

Use rhymes, rhythmic patterns, or tunes

Try humorous or odd sayings thal will stick in your mind

Exaggerate features or images to make them vivid

• M ake your mnemonics personally meaningful

■ S O U N D W O R D S O U T - P h a t a m thUa

Similar to mnemonics, sounding words out can help you lo r e m e m b e r how

to spell them There are two ways in which sounding words out can benefit you The first is sounding out unfamiliar or tricky words when you read them If you are reading a m em o or newspaper article and \<<u notice a word thal you have spelled incorrectly in the past, or have never had occasion

to spell, sound it ('ut Break the word into syllables, saying e a ch <>ne aloud

as you read il Once you have each of the syllables down Nirinu them together and say the whole word, thinking about how the sound of the word and its spelling are related

For example, if you read the word tranquility you would break it down into four syllables like this: tran, quit i ty Say each syllable slowly,

committing the spelling to memory

The second technique is to exaggerate the way a word is spelled, the way it sounds, or some part of the word The English language has hundreds

of words that are not spelled the way they sound, with silent letters and letter com binations throw ing e v e n the best spellers for a loop But, exaggerating these idiosyncrasies can make the spelling stick in your mind

Here are some examples: Connecticut Separate into three words: Connect,

I and cut elementary To rem ember that the ending is -ary rather than -ery,

emphasize the air sound at the end

knowledge Sound out in three parts: kay, now, led^e conscience Separate into two words: con and science

Sloppy pronunciation is one of the fastest routes to sloppy spelling If

you get in the habit of dropping syllables or letters from words when you speak, you may find yourself dropping them when you write An example of this would be writing innermural when the correct spelling

is intramural If you run the first two syllables together rather than enunciating properly, you may erroneously translate the way you pronounce the word to the way you spell it Another sloppy pronunciation that may result in sloppy spelling is saying inneresting instead of articulating interesting

U S E FLA SH C A R D S - D u n g g ia y td gh i ch u n h a n h

You might feel silly using flash cards, but once you notice that you are no longer making careless spelling mistakes, chances arc you w o n 't mind being a bit silly Flash cards are easy and convenient to use All you need

is a pack of index cards and a pen Here are some ways in which you can use flash cards to your advantage:

• On the front of each card, write a word you want to learn Leave out key letters Write the complete word on the back Quiz yourself by trying to correctly fill in the blanks

Write a Goof-Proof Rule on the front, and exam ples of the rule on the back

■ V I S I T H E L P F U L S P E L L IN G A N D V O C A B U L A R Y

W E B S IT E S - V a o c a c tra n g W e b t il v iin g va c a c h v ie t

The Internet contains many websites devoted to language, spelling, learning, and personal developm ent Some sites that you may consider visiting are: www.dictionary.com - A useful online dictionary (plus, you can click through

www.randomhouse.com/words/ - Words (e Random Here you will find

crossword puzzles, quizzes, dictionaries, and other fun stuff all in one site

www.say-it-in-cnglish.com/SpellHome.html - Absolutely Ridiculous English Spelling

www.sentex.net/~mmcadams/spelling.html - This site has a tricky online spelling test thal is worth taking

www.spelling.hcmscott.net/ - Useful advice on how to improve your spelling www.spellingbee.com/index.shtml - The Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee site contains "Carolyn's Corner" with weekly tips and infoimation

on spelling

www.spellweb.com - This site will help you to pick the correct spelling of two versions of a word or phrase

www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/index.htrnl - Paul Brians' “Common Errors

in English" site You will find a substantial amount of information about the English language thal will help you to avoid spelling errors

You’ve heard the rhyme, “I before E except after C, o r when sounding like A

as in ne ighbor or w e i g h ” I t’s an old rhym e and one you should learn because it works

Another way to think about IE vs E l is to rem e m b e r that you use IE to make a long E sound and E l to make a long A sound Words with the long

£ sound include: wield, fierce, and cashier W ords with the long A sound

include: eight, vein, and deign

[ Q U IZ ] - C au h o i tr a c n g h ie m k ie n th tic

Circle the words below that are spelled correctly Turn to the Answer Key

to see how you perform ed

This one is simple: Use Al when the vowel combination makes the sound

“uh, ” like the word villain Use IA when each vowel is pronounced separately, like the word median

[ Q U IZ ] - Cau hoi tra c n g h ie m k ie n thifc

Let's break down the rhyme to fully understand it "When two vowels go walking” refers to a two-vowel combination in a word For example, abstain,

che't/p, foe and ruin “The first one does the talking" is stating that in the

two-vowel combinations, only the first vowel is pronounced, and the second

one is silent In the case of our examples, you hear the long a in abstain, but not the i In cheap, you hear the long e but not the a Similarly, in Joe you hear the long o but not the e and in ruin, you hear the long u but not the i.

Here are some more examples of words that follow the twovowels rule:

[ Q U IZ ] - C au hoi tra c n g h ie m k ie n th tic

Test yourself by circling the correctly spelled words

• the ending begins with a vowel

• the last syllable o f the w ord is accented and that syllable ends in a

single vowel followed by a single consonant (words with only one syllable are always accented)

Some endings that begin with vowels include: -ing, -ed -age -er, -ence, -

ance, -al; thus stop becomes stopping, stopped, stoppage, or stopper The final consonant, p is doubled before adding the endings because stop has

only one syllabic (so it is accented), and it ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel

The word occur becomes occurring, occurred, or occurrence The final consonant here r is doubled because the last syllable in occur is accented,

and il ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel

H ere are som e o th e r e x a m p le s of words that m ee t the doubling requirements:

run - running, runner

slam - slamming, slammed

nag - nagged, nagging

incur - incurred, incurring

kid - kidding, kidder

plan - planned, planning, planner

begin - beginning, beginner

set - setting

transmit - transmitting, transmittal, transmitted

Some examples of words that do not meet the requirements are:

cover - the accent is on the first syllable

bus - buses chagrin - chagrined

blanket - blanketed offer - offered

Most words that end in w:

draw - drawing show - showing, showed

few - fewer glow - glowing, glowed

[ Q U IZ ] - C au hoi tr a c n g h ie m k ie n th tic

Mark the words yes or no with a checkmark that follow the rules for doubling

consonants before adding an ending that begins with a vowel

answer indict psychology

autumn £neel reign

blight Acnight r/?etorical

debi knowledge suMle

feign li ght through

ghost mnemonics Wednesday

A'nat psalm wrestle

gnaw pseudonym write

Practice this list using flash cards or by creating mnemonics to learn these tricky words

Add the missing letters to the words in these sentences

1 In biology class, she learned about the life c_cle of butterflies

2 You can save money at the grocery store if you use c _pons

3 Harry b ecam e an actor because he loved being the c_nter o f attention

4 Who c sed the fire? 5 He bought a new pair of hedge c ippers

► R U L E 7: " G " W h i z ! G c a n b e s o f t o r h a r d , t o o !

Q uy t i c 7: Chuf " G " co th e p h a t a m m a n h h o a c n h e

G O O F -P R O O F / - D ie m c a n n h d

Like c, g can be soft or hard A soft g sounds like a j: a hard g sounds like

guh , or the g in goof A hard G is fo llo w ed by all letters except e i or y Soft G:

[Q U IZ \ - Cau hoi t r i e n g h ie m kien thtic

Add the missing letters to the words in these sentences

1 In general, she was pleased with the results

2 Climbing the mountain was a g_tsy thing to do

3 The g_ys waited for Brian at the front entrance

4 The family liked to see the g_raffes at the zoo

5 Elsa’s brother had the flu and she was afraid of catching his g_rms

■ PL U R A L S P R E T E S T - Hinh thufc so n hieu cua tC(

Forming plurals can be difficult because there are so many rules and exceptions to those rules Take this short pretest before learning the Goof- Proof Rules for plurals It will help you to see where you need extra workWrite the plural form o f each of the following words

► R U L E 8: R e g u la r p lu ra ls - w h e n to ju s t a d d -s a n d when

to ad d -es - Q uy ta c 8 : D a n h t it so n h ie u th e o q u y t ic :

K h i th e m s va es

G O O F -P R O O F / - D ie m c a n n h d

A dd just an -s to m ost words to make them plural unless they end with x, s

ss z sh or ch Then, add -es If a word ends in o p receded hx a consonant,

add -es Otherwise, ju st add -s

The words that take -es (those that end in - v, -s, -sh o r -ch) have similar

sounds They arc hissing-type sounds Grouping the exceptions this way

may help you to rem e m b e r that "hiss" words take -es instead o f just -s to

form the plural

For words that end in o rem em ber that if the ending is a vow el followed

by an o add -s like cameo, or rodeo 11 the word ends in a consonant followed by an o, add -es Examples of this would be m ess, or confess

There are a few exceptions to the rule for making plural forms ol words

that end in o The following words (thal end with a consonant lollowed

[Q U IZ \ - Cau hoi t r i e n g h ie m k ie n thtic

Write the correct plural form of the following words

1 7 4

► R U L E 9: P e s k y plu rals

Q uy ta c 9: M o t so d an h td so n h id u p h d c ta p

G O O F -P R O O F / - D ie m can n h d

Some plurals are not form ed by adding -s or -es Often, these are words lhat

have come inio the English language from other languages, such as Latin

or Greek You can become familiar with these words by looking for patterns

in the way their plurals are formed

Here are some examples:

Words that end in -um, change to -a

[Q U IZ \ - Cau hoi t r i e n g h ie m kien thijTc

Form plurals of the following words

td ta n c u n g b i n g F h o a c FE

G O O F -P R O O F / - D ie m can n h d

Won/s that end in f sometimes change to v before adding -s or -es to m a k e

a plural Pul your memorization skills to work for this group of wordsWords that keep the final / and add -.v include:

belief - beliefs

chef - chefs

There are a few exceptions to this rule You keep a final e when adding an

ending that begins with a vowel if:

1 The e follows a soft c or g This keeps the soft sound for those letters

2 You need to protect pronunciation (show that a preceding vowel should

be long, for example, as in hoe + -ing = hoeing not hoing)

You will drop a final e when adding an ending that begins with a consonant if: The e follows a u or w

[Q UIZ] - Cau hoi t r a c n g h ie m kien thtfc

Complete the words below' by deciding when to keep and when to drop the

fly - flier, flies

party - partied, partier, parties

weary - wearied, wearies

so n y - sorrier

pretty - prettier, prettiness

worry - worried, worrier, worries

try - tried, tries

R em em ber to keep the y when adding -ing:

enjoy - enjoyed, enjoying, enjoys

employ - employed, employing, employs

pray - prayed, praying, prays

delay - delayed, delaying, delays

[Q U IZ] - Cau hoi t r i e n g h ie m kien thiifc

Complete the words below by deciding when to change the final y to an /

► RULE 13: A d d in g endings to w ords th a t end w ith a C -

Quy t i c 13: Them phan cudi vao nhiifng tti tan cung b an g C

G O O F -P R O O F !

Add a k after a final c before any ending that begins with c, i, or y All other endings do not require a k.

For example:

traffic + -er = trafficker

traffic + -able = traffic able

Other examples of when to add a k are:

panic - panicking, panicked, panicky

mimic - mimicking, mimic ked, mimicker

picnic - picnic king, picnic ked, picnicker

18 0

[Q U IZ ] - C a u hoi t r a c n g h ie m k ie n th tic

Circle the correctly spelled words in the sentences below

1 Peter would spend entire afternoons mimicking / mimic in k his sister

2 W h e n ev e r she rode on a roller coaster she would becom e panicky /

panicy

3 We were relieved when the drug traffickers / traf- f u e r s were arrested

4 She had a distinct, easily mimiced /m im ic k e d voice

5 In the summ er, the family would go on many picnicks /p ic n ic s

6 Anna had trouble learning to read until her mother started helping her

with phonics / phonicks

7 You can get by in a foreign country as long as you know the hasicks /

basics of the language

8 Parts of Boston have a very historickal / historical feel

9 The barbarians havocked / havoced Rome

10 The wire w as electrickally / electrically charged

R U L E 14: A p o s t r o p h e s - T h e a t t r a c t i o n o f c o n tr a c tio n s

Q uy td c 74; D a u h id e - D a u h ie u c h i td v ie t t a t

The apostrophe is one o f the most comm only m isused punctuation marks, but there are only two uses fo r apostrophes - to show possession and to make a contraction N ever ever use an apostrophe to make a w ord plural About contractions

Contractions are shorthand-type of words formed by putting two words together, dropping one or more letters, and then putting an apostrophe in place of the omitted letters This last part is the ke\ point for you to learn:

In contractions, the apostrophe takes the place of the dropped letters

Here is a list of common contractions, with the most frequently goofed contractions listed in bold:

we are = w e 're

they arc = they're (not the homophone there)

you are = you're (not the homophone your)

do not = don't

will not = won't

should not = shouldn't

would not = wouldn't

could not = couldn't

cannot = can't

docs not = doesn't

have not = haven't

it is = it's (not the homophone its)

Become familiar with these common contractions, and remember that theapostrophe takes the place of the omitted letters (i.e., the “m7" omittedfrom “will” when combined with “s h e ” to form “she'll'')

[Q U IZ l - Cau hoi t r a c n g h ie m kien th d e

Circle the word that is spelled correctly

1 Were / We're heading out to the bcach

2 D on’t / d 'n t eat that cake, its / it's for Harold! 3 She's / sh'es baking

cookies

4 Their / they're studying hard for the exam tomorrow

5 Its / i t ’s a bright sunny day

6 Jeremy thinks that I'm / Ini' keeping secrets! 7 Harriet doesn’t / does ’nt

like fish and chips

8 Take off your / y o u ’re boots if you've / youv’e been outside

9 I w on't / w illn't eat liver

10 I wouldn't / wont go to Sylvia's if you paid me!

Singular noun: add 's

The cat’s scratching post

The boy's bedroom

Singular noun ending in " s s ”: You can add ’ o r \v The tem ptress’ lair The tem ptress’s lair

The waitress’ first shift

Plural noun ending in “s ”: add ’

The law yers’ bills were too high

My friends’ skirts are identical

Plural noun not ending in '‘s ’’: add ’s

She picked up the children's empty trays

The w om en's robes were hung near the pool

Proper nouns (names): add ’s

Emily's car was in the shop

Silas's wife owns the company

Singular indefinite pronoun: add 's

A room of on e ’s own

Plural indefinite pronoun: add ’

The others' votes

Compound noun: add ' or 's to the end of the final word

I went to my mother-in-law’s house

They are his sister-in-law's children

That is the sergeant-at-arms’ post

Joint possession: add 's to the end of the final name

Tim and L eslie's cat is a tabby

Ricky and M aria's house is on Main Street

Separate possession: add 's after both names

Veronica’s and Tony's clothes were covered in mud

Huang's and Roberto's mothers work in the same office

■ A N O T E O N P L U R A L S

A common mistake is to use an apostrophe to pluralize a word This is almost always incorrect T here are very few instances where using an apostrophe to signify a plural would be correct These include:

Creating a plural possessive: The girls' lunches were stolen

Plural letters of the alphabet: Shannon got four A ’s and two B’s on

her report card

[QUIZ] - Cau hoi t r a c n g h ie m kien thufc

Circle the word that is spelled correctly

1 Linda's / Lindas calendar w'as too small to fit all of her appointments

2 We decided to order the hot turkey sandwiches / sandw ich's on rye

3 The bus's / buses parked in front of the school in the afternoon

4 Those are the hostess's / hostesses favorite candles

5 Did R udy’s / Rudys cat climb up the tree? 6 The lion bared its / it's

huge, sharp teeth

7 The magistrate s /magistrates daughter was lovely

8 Jones / Jo nes's mother looked younger than her years

18 4

9 The pu p p y’s /p u p p ie s w ere so tiny: they could all fit in a shoebox

10 We knew nothing about the w aitress’ / waitresses past

► R U L E 16: A b b r e v ia t io n s - Q uy t i c 16: C h d v ie t t i t

G O O F -P R O O F / - D ie m c a n n h d

Abbreviations are followed by periods except in these cases:

• Two-letter postal code abbreviations fo r states Initials representing a com pany or agency

• Letters in acronym s

W hat’s an acronym? Acronyms are words formed from the first letters of

a nam e, such as SPAC for Saratoga Performing Arts Center They also can be formed by combining the first letters or parts of a series of words, such as radar for radio detecting and ranging

C o m m o n A b b r e v i a t i o n s - C a c c h d v ie t t d t th o n g th ild n g

Days Sun., Mon Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat

Months Jan., Feb., Mar Apr., Jun., Jul., Aug., Sept Oct Nov., Dec

Titles Ms., Mrs., Mr., Esq

D eg r e e s Dr Hon., M.D Ph.D., Ed.D

Rank Pvt Sgt., Capt Maj., Col Gen

[Q U IZ ] - Cau hoi t r i e n g h ie m k ie n th tic

Write out the correct abbreviations for the following words

1 M assachusetts

2 General Electric

3 October

4 Sundav