Page 39 - Knowledge Organiser Yr8 24-25

Knowledge Base: English Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) Year 8
Grammar
9.1
Possessive apostrophes:
An apostrophe can be used to show that one thing belongs to (or is connected to) something. This is called a possessive apostrophe
Singular possession – when something belongs to only one person/thing.
Example – The cat’s tail was fluffy. Cat is a singular noun so you need to add an apostrophe and ‘s’ to show that the tail belongs to the cat.
Example – Charles’ cat was naughty. Charles is a singular noun that ends in an ‘s’, so you only need to add an apostrophe to show that the cat belongs to Charles.
Plural possession – when something belongs to more than one person/thing.
Example – The brothers’ feet were muddy. Brothers is a plural noun that ends in an ‘s’, so you don’t add another ‘s’ after your apostrophe. You can just add an apostrophe to show the feet belong to the brothers.
Example – The children’s toys were broken. Children is a plural noun but it doesn’t end with an ‘s’ so you need to add an apostrophe and ‘s’ to show that the toys belong to the children.
9.2
Apostrophes for contractions:
You can use apostrophes to show that you have omitted (left out) some letters when you are joining words together.
Example – You can join the words ‘you’ and ‘are’ together You + are = you’re
The apostrophe takes the place of the removed letters. In this example, the letter ‘a’.
Sometimes, you will need to rearrange the letters a bit when you contract the words.
Example – Will + not = won’t Using contractions like these makes your writing more informal.
9.3
The word ‘its’ or ‘it’s’ can be written two ways, with two very different meanings.
We use it’s (with an apostrophe) for contracting ‘it is’ or ‘it has’.
Example – It’s sunny today.
We use its (without an apostrophe) for possession. Example – The dog scratched its ear.
Grammar
10.1
Homophones
Two or more words having the same pronunciation or sound but with different meanings.
Common homophone errors:
• Their – Is a possessive pronoun to show ownership
• There – is a preposition to denote the position of an object
• They’re – A contraction of they are
• to – Is used to show motion
• too- means ‘also’ or ‘extremely’ – The extra ‘o’ adds to the emphasis,
• two – is a number
10.2
Would have/ would of
• Have is a verb which denotes an action.
• Of is a preposition which denotes the position of an object.
• Despite the words sounding similar when the modal verb “would have” is contracted to “would’ve” and therefore they sound similar.
10.3
Capital Letters
• Every sentence should start with a capital letter.
• Use a capital letter for people’s names and the days of the week.
• Use a capital letter when you write about yourself using ‘I’.
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