What is a simple definition of an apostrophe?
Definition of apostrophe : a mark ‘ used to indicate the omission of letters or figures, the possessive case (as in “John’s book”), or the plural of letters or figures (as in “the 1960’s”) In the contraction “can’t,” the apostrophe replaces two of the letters in the word “cannot.”. apostrophe.
Table of Contents
What is the literary definition of an apostrophe?
As a literary device, apostrophe refers to a speech or address to a person who is not present or to a personified object, such as Yorick’s skull in Hamlet. It comes from the Greek word apostrephein which means “to turn away.” You are already familiar with the punctuation mark known as the apostrophe.
What is an apostrophe in a sentence?
The most common use of apostrophes in English is for contractions, where a noun or pronoun and a verb combine. Remember that the apostrophe is often replacing a letter that has been dropped. It is placed where the missing letter would be in that case.
What is the meaning of apostrophe and give 5 examples?
Apostrophe – when a character in a literary work speaks to an object, an idea, or someone who doesn’t exist as if it is a living person. This is done to produce dramatic effect and to show the importance of the object or idea. Examples of Apostrophe: 1. Oh, rose, how sweet you smell and how bright you look!
What is the difference between oxymoron and antithesis?
An oxymoron is a phrase that contains two opposed or contradictory concepts. An antithesis, on the other hand, is a technique that conveys two opposing concepts in a sentence (but not in the same phrase).
Is it Venus or Venus’s?
A 1772 edition of Joseph Priestley’s The Rudiments of English Grammar, for example, says the possessive “is formed by adding (s) with an apostrophe before it” to a singular noun. Examples include one with a singular noun ending in “s” (“Venus’s beauty”).
What is the weird apostrophe called?
Alternatively known as acute, backtick, left quote, or an open quote, the back quote or backquote is a punctuation mark (`). It’s on the same U.S. computer keyboard key as the tilde.
What is the difference between an oxymoron and juxtaposition?
Juxtaposition is pairing that which depicts either similarities or differences between the two while an oxymoron is a pairing of contrasting statements depicting the differences.
How do you write an apostrophe?
Launch your Word document.
What does apostrophe mean in literary terms?
Definition of Apostrophe. As a literary device, an apostrophe is a poetic phrase or speech made by a character that is addressed to a subject that is not literally present in the literary work. The subject may be dead, absent, an inanimate object, or even an abstract idea.
How to use apostrophe correctly?
Indicate possession
When to use an apostrophe?
It is a common knowledge that an apostrophe is used to show possession. While the full stop, among other functions, marks the end of a clause or sentence, the apostrophe indicates ownership. When properly placed, it enhances clarity but makes the expression awkward or ambiguous when carelessly handled. Consider the following:
