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Quiz about Apostrophes Are Not Difficult

Apostrophes Are Not Difficult Trivia Quiz

An apostrophe is used to show possession, and to show where there is a missing letter. It really is quite simple. Let's see how you go as the quiz takes us step by step through a dispute between neighbours.

A multiple-choice quiz by DevonshireLass. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
DevonshireLass

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
248,700

Updated
Mar 11 24

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
81477

Awards
Editor's Choice

Last 3 plays: coolcools (3/10), Guest 74 (7/10), pmccoskey (3/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Would you use an apostrophe if you were to write about the four children who live next door? Hint

No, you would write - The four boys live next door.

Yes, you would write - The four boy's live next door.

Yes, you would write - The four boys' live next door.

Yes, you would write - The four boys live nex't door.

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Enough is enough! It's time to write and complain about the neighbour's sons. Before penning your final letter, you have to work out if your apostrophes are correct - of the following sentences, which one is the only one you got right first time? Hint

The boys' football is always ending up in my garden.

You're oldest boy's encourages his brothers to misbehave.

Your son's are always shouting loudly.

The boys frisbee is still stuck on my garage roof.

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. The oldest boy is most definitely the ringleader, and you want to make sure your neighbour is aware of this. Which of the following sentences is NOT correct? Hint

All the boys follow James's example.

I believe James to be the ringleader and that he incites his brothers' bad behaviour.

The boys' behaviour is made worse with James' encouragement.

James is the worst of all the boy's as he encourages them to misbehave.

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Sadly, your neighbour is not happy to receive your letter, and writes back to you defending his sons. In his letter you notice he writes "It's a shame you don't keep as close a watch on your dog and its behaviour." You wonder if he wrote it properly. Did he?

Yes

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. You are not sure what to do now, because you don't want a full-scale war with your neighbour, so you write a note to your brother, asking him what he would advise you to do. Once written, you look at your note and wonder how to phrase one particular sentence. Which of these should you choose? Hint

As for my dog, well you know it's getting senile, but its still lovable.

As for my dog, well you know its getting senile, but its still lovable.

As for my dog, well you know its getting senile, but it's still lovable.

As for my dog, well you know it's getting senile, but it's still lovable.

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. As you continue your note to your brother, you get slightly carried away and start complaining about the music played in the house next door. You are not too sure how to write the plural of CD so you chicken out and write 'records' instead, as if they were playing old vinyl records still! How ought you to have written this sentence? Hint

They play their CD's on full blast every afternoon when they get home from school.

They play their CDs on full blast every afternoon when they get home from school.

They play their CDs' on full blast every afternoon when they get home from school.

They play their C'Ds on full blast every afternoon when they get home from school.

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. When your brother writes back to you, he starts talking as if he had turned into a mathematician overnight, and is talking about X equals Y and stuff like that which you don't understand. You do, however, notice that he does not use an apostrophe when he writes: "There are any number of Xs involved here, and you must remember that you live next door to these people." Was your brother right not to include an apostrophe when he wrote this?

Yes

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Deciding that your brother wrote a lot of sense, you decide to make friends with your neighbour and write to invite him to come around for dinner. Knowing that you are of an age, you decide to make it a bit of a themed occasion and write that you will be playing music from a certain decade (if it is OK with him), but how do you write this? Hint

Music from the 1970's

Music from the 19seventy's

Music from the 1970s'

Music from the 1970s

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. The note you get back from your neighbour the next day makes you believe in people again. He very nicely agrees to come for dinner with his wife, and says that he is fine with your choice of music. You notice that he used the apostrophe correctly in his letter - but which of these sentences did he write? Hint

We both love music from the 70's and the late 60's.

We both love music from the '70s and the late '60s.

We both love music from the 70s' and the late 60s'.

We both love music from the '70's and the late '60's.

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Delighted by the new friendship which seems to be growing, you write to thank your brother for his advice, and include a sentence which you know for certain has correct apostrophe use. Which of these did you write in your note? Hint

I don't know how to thank you for your advice about the boys' behaviour. Could I borrow your CDs?

I don't know how to thank you for your advice about the boys behaviour. Could I borrow your CD's?

I dont know how to thank you for your advice about the boys' behaviour. Could I borrow your CDs?

I dont know how to thank you for your advice about the boys' behaviour. Could I borrow your CD's?

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Most Recent Scores

Apr 19 2024 : coolcools: 3/10
Apr 19 2024 : Guest 74: 7/10
Apr 17 2024 : pmccoskey: 3/10
Apr 16 2024 : Guest 173: 8/10
Apr 16 2024 : english_gent: 7/10
Apr 14 2024 : moth5654: 7/10
Apr 13 2024 : DTSchultz85: 7/10
Apr 13 2024 : LightninBug: 6/10
Apr 11 2024 : Greenrhyno53: 7/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Would you use an apostrophe if you were to write about the four children who live next door?

Answer: No, you would write - The four boys live next door.

No apostrophe is needed here because it is a plural - four boys.

Answer: The boys' football is always ending up in my garden.

Because there is more than one boy, they are 'boys', and because it is a plural word, the apostrophe for possession comes after the 's' which is already there. The same thing happens when you use a name which ends in an 's' (James' hat was left on the table.). Adding another 's' is as correct as not adding one (James's hat is blue), but most people choose not to because it looks untidy and is difficult to read aloud.

The apostrophe in 'you're' indicates the missing letter 'a', and actually means 'you are'.

3. The oldest boy is most definitely the ringleader, and you want to make sure your neighbour is aware of this. Which of the following sentences is NOT correct?

Answer: James is the worst of all the boy's as he encourages them to misbehave.

In this incorrect sentence there is an apostrophe in a plural word (boys). All the other apostrophes (in the correct sentences) show possession. Possession is not just something tangible such as a ball or a Frisbee - it can also be abstract, such as 'behaviour' or 'country' and so on.
Both James' and James's are considered correct as James is singular.

Answer: Yes

Your neighbour got 'don't' right because an apostrophe is needed to show a missing letter (or more than one), and he remembered that an apostrophe is also needed for the word 'it's' because he is using the word to mean 'it is' and the apostrophe is used to show the missing 'i'. Most importantly, he also remembered that the word 'it' is unique in that no apostrophe is needed for the possessive.

Answer: As for my dog, well you know it's getting senile, but it's still lovable.

The apostrophe in 'it's' always shows a missing letter (i) because the possessive of 'it' does not use an apostrophe. The easiest way to work out which is required is to read 'it's' as 'it is', and if it does not fit the sentence that way, then no apostrophe is needed.

Answer: They play their CDs on full blast every afternoon when they get home from school.

Even though 'CD' is not a word like 'cat' or 'table', it still follows the rules for plurals. This means you add an 's' but no apostrophe, and the 's' is always in lower case (not a capital letter). The same applies to all abbreviations of this type - for example, more than one PIN is written as PINs.

Answer: Yes

Just as the plural of CD is CDs, the plural of a single letter is generally written as a capital followed by a small 's' without an apostrophe. Single letters are usually found in mathematics, but they can also be used in written English for various different reasons. Remember, a plural never uses an apostrophe. Ever.

Answer: Music from the 1970s

If all the music you were going to play was from 1970, then it could read as 'music from 1970's charts' or '1970's music', using the apostrophe to show possession, but otherwise there is no apostrophe here - because the decade is a plural grouping of years - 1970s.

Answer: We both love music from the '70s and the late '60s.

When you write a word such as 'don't' you use an apostrophe to show missing letter(s), and the same applies to when a number(s) is missed. There is a slight difficulty here, as there is a tendency for the English language to absorb a shortened word without the apostrophe (such as bus, phone etc.), and at the time of writing this quiz, this has happened to dates in the UK but not the US. So, all things considered, it is better to write the date in full and include the century when writing 1970s etc.

Answer: I don't know how to thank you for your advice about the boys' behaviour. Could I borrow your CDs?

The word 'don't' is a combination of 'do' and 'not' with the 'o' missing and an apostrophe in its place. As 'behaviour' belongs to the boys, the apostrophe for possession comes after the 's'. More than one CD will always be written as 'CDs'.

Source: Author DevonshireLass

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LeoDaVinci before going online.
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