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How to use " ' " punctations?

I have always been confused of when to use the grammar sign '

like do you use it with singular plural

like use the example of The boys dog

if you wanted it to be the boys dog

would it be

The boy's dog

or

the boys dog

and when it is plural possessive

idk i guess im Just confused

9 Answers

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  • 10 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    It's an apostrophe and you use it this way. The boy's dog, if you are talking about one boy. The boys' dog if you are talking about more than one boy. Boys is just a plural, boy's is a singular possessive and boys' is a plural possessive. Got it?

    Then you have the its and it's dilemma. It's is short for it is, but "its" is used as a possessive which is a direct contradiction to the above example. It's a nice day out. I saw a dog. Its tail was black. English...go figure!

  • aida
    Lv 7
    10 years ago

    To make a noun possessive, you need an apostrophe. If the noun is singular, or if it's plural but doesn't end in s, add 's. If it's plural and already ends in s, just add an apostrophe. So "the boy's dog" means the dog belonging to one boy. "The boys' dog" means the dog belonging to more than one boy together. "The boys dog" needs an apostrophe in one place or the other.

    Source(s): Retired English professor
  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    ' after the s when it's plural (or in some cases singular when the word ends in s), and before the s when it's singular.

    The boys' dog (more than one boy)

    the boy's dog (one boy)

  • 10 years ago

    the " ' " sign is used when you have to pluralize a word that already ends in an "s" so if you are talking about a dog of one boy it would be "The boys dog." If you were talking about the dog of multiple boys it would be "The boys' dog."

    Source(s): What I remember from school
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  • 10 years ago

    Boy's dog if it is one boy that owns the dog.

    AND

    Boys' dog is it is more then one boy that owns the dog.

    Source(s): Honors English student.
  • ?
    Lv 6
    10 years ago

    Single quotes are only normally used for quotations within quotations.

    ie: I herd John say "Susan told me 'I'm going to Florida for spring break.'" Note that since both quotes need to be closed at the end of this statement there are both single and double quotes there.

  • 10 years ago

    just when a boy has a dog then-- the boy's dog. when a group of boys have a dog-- the boys dog.

  • 10 years ago

    for plural possessive, it would be boys'

    same with girls', dogs', pandas', etc.

  • 10 years ago

    the answer would be the boy's dog.

    the ' in this case is used to show who owns something.

    Example: the girl's cat.

    if the cat belonged to many girls, it would be:

    the girls' cat.

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