Grade by Grade
B. Foundations of Language · Foundations: Grammar, Sentences and Punctuation

Apostrophes, Hyphens and Capital Letters: The Fine Points

B3.3 B3.2About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can form singular, plural and joint possessives correctly.
  • I can hyphenate compound adjectives before a noun, compound numbers and some prefixes.
  • I can capitalize proper nouns precisely: places, regions, titles, languages, Peoples and Nations, holidays and titles of works.
  • I can tell when not to use an apostrophe or capital letter.

Words to know

possessive
A form that shows ownership: the dog's bowl, the dogs' bowls.
joint possession
Two or more people owning the same thing: Ana and Raj's project (one project).
compound adjective
Two or more words working together as one adjective before a noun: a well-known artist.
proper noun
The specific name of a person, place, group or thing; it begins with a capital letter: Lake Superior, Métis Nation.
proper adjective
An adjective made from a proper noun: Canadian, Inuit art, French bread.

One mark, two meanings

  • the girl's change room (one girl)
  • the girls' change room (more than one girl)
  • my sister's friends (one sister has friends)
  • my sisters' friends (two or more sisters share friends)

The position of the apostrophe tells the reader how many people own something. In this lesson you'll polish three small marks that readers notice right away: apostrophes, hyphens and capital letters.

one coachthe coach’s whistlecoach + ’smany playersthe players’ benchplayers + ’ (already ends in s)
One owner: add ’s. Many owners whose word already ends in s: add just the ’. The apostrophe's position tells you how many.

Apostrophes

  1. Singular noun: add 's: the coach's whistle, Chris's jacket (some style guides write Chris'; choose one and be consistent).
  2. **Plural noun ending in s:** add only the apostrophe: the players' bench, the Joneses' cottage.
  3. **Plural noun not ending in s:** add 's: the children's library, the people's choice, the women's team.
  4. Joint possession (one shared thing): apostrophe on the last name only: Ana and Raj's project.
  5. Separate possession (each owns one): apostrophe on each: Ana's and Raj's projects.

No apostrophe:

  • plain plurals: two hot dogs (not hot dog's)
  • decades and abbreviations: the 1990s, DVDs
  • possessive pronouns: its, hers, ours, theirs, yours, whose
HyphenateDon't hyphenate
a well-known artist (before the noun)The artist is well known. (after the verb)
a 10-year-old cousinMy cousin is 10 years old.
twenty-one, ninety-nineone hundred, two thousand
a two-thirds majorityTwo thirds of the class voted. (Some writers hyphenate this too.)
mid-July, pre-Confederation, ex-captain, self-esteemrewrite, preview (most common prefixes join with no hyphen)
a long-term plana freshly baked loaf (no hyphen after an -ly adverb)
Hyphens join words into one idea. Prefixes before a capital letter (pre-Confederation, mid-July) need one.
Before the noun: hyphenawell-knownartistone adjective describing artistAfter the verb: no hyphenThe artistiswellknown.a well-known artistThe artist is well known.
Before a noun, well and known team up as one adjective, so a hyphen joins them. After the verb, they stand apart with no hyphen.

Capital letters: the fine points

  • Specific places, not general ones: Lake Superior but the lake; Algonquin Park but a provincial park.
  • Regions, not directions: Northern Ontario, the Prairies, the North (as a region) but drive north, the west side of town.
  • Titles before names: Mayor Chen, Dr. Singh, Grandpa Joe but the mayor said, our doctor. Family words used as names are capitalized: Ask Mom. but Ask my mom.
  • Languages, nationalities and Peoples: English, French, Inuktitut, Cree; Canadian; First Nations, Métis, Inuit, Indigenous; specific Nations such as Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, Mi'kmaq. Note: Inuit means the people (plural); one person is an Inuk.
  • School subjects: only languages and specific course names are capitalized: math, science, history but English, French.
  • Holidays, months and days, but not seasons: Canada Day, Thanksgiving, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, January, Monday, but winter, spring.
  • Titles of works: capitalize the first and last words and all important words. Short articles, conjunctions and prepositions (a, an, the, and, but, or, of, in, on, to, for) stay lowercase in the middle: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Worked example

Let's fix the apostrophes

Fix: The two teams bus's were parked beside the childrens playground, and each bus had it's lights on.

  1. teams own the buses, and teams is plural ending in s → teams'. bus's is a plural, not a possessive → buses.
  2. childrens → children is plural not ending in s → children's.
  3. it's means it is. Possessive → its.

The two teams' buses were parked beside the children's playground, and each bus had its lights on.

Worked example

Let's fix the capitals

Fix: This Summer my Aunt drove us North to visit the anishinaabe community where she teaches Math, near lake Nipigon.

  1. Summer is a season → summer.
  2. my Aunt is not used as a name → my aunt.
  3. North here is a direction (drove north) → north.
  4. anishinaabe is the name of a People → Anishinaabe.
  5. Math is a school subject (not a language) → math.
  6. lake Nipigon is a specific lake → Lake Nipigon.

This summer my aunt drove us north to visit the Anishinaabe community where she teaches math, near Lake Nipigon.

Respect in capital letters

Capitalizing the names of Peoples and Nations (First Nations, Métis, Inuit, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee) is a matter of accuracy and respect, just like capitalizing Canadian or French. When a community or Nation has its own preferred spelling, use it.

Just for fun

A sign at the market says Lemon's 3 for $1.

The apostrophe sighs: "The lemon's what, exactly?"

Hands-on activity

Proofreader's walk

You need: a notebook, a pencil and permission to walk around your home or neighbourhood with a grown-up (or look at flyers, signs and packaging at home).

  1. Find 10 examples of apostrophes, hyphens or capital letters on signs, labels, menus or flyers.
  2. Copy each one and mark it ✓ (correct) or ✗ (needs fixing). For example, a sign that says Fresh Apple's needs no apostrophe.
  3. For each ✗, write the correction and the rule.
  4. Make a mini "style guide" page for your writing binder with your three favourite rules and examples.

What to look for: your child explains the rule, not just the fix. Note: signs and brand names sometimes break the rules on purpose (for style or trademark reasons).

Your turn

1

Write the possessive: the bikes belonging to the three boys.

2

Write the possessive: the toys belonging to the children.

3

Joint or separate? Liam and Zoe's dog / Liam's and Zoe's dogs

4

Hyphen or not? a well known singer / The singer is well known.

5

Hyphen or not? a beautifully painted canoe

6

Fix the capitals: We celebrate canada day every Summer.

7

Capitalize the title correctly: a walk in the snow

More practice: warm-up

1

Fix: I bought three apple's.

2

Possessive of the dog (one dog)?

3

Write in words with a hyphen: 47

4

Capital or not: french toast?

5

Capital or not: I have science after lunch.

More practice: on your own

1

Fix and explain: The Smith's are coming for dinner.

2

Write the possessive: the cottage that belongs to the Jones family.

3

Fix the hyphens: My twelve year old brother made a last minute decision.

4

Fix the capitals: We drove West through northern ontario to visit uncle Dev.

5

Is the capital correct? Our class learned about Inuit throat singing.

Challenge

1

Fix all errors: My parent's friend, a well known Métis artist, showed us her paintings of the northern lights at the Art Gallery last Fall.

2

Explain the difference: (a) a small-business owner (b) a small business owner

3

Write a sentence that correctly uses joint possession, a hyphenated number and a capitalized region.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is correct for a room used by many students?

2.

Which is correct?

3.

Which needs a hyphen?

4.

Which sentence is capitalized correctly?

5.

Ana and Raj share one science project. Which is correct?

6.

Which title is capitalized correctly?

7.

Which uses an apostrophe correctly?

For parents and teachers

What this lesson is about: the fine points of apostrophes (plural and joint possessives), hyphens (compound adjectives, numbers, prefixes) and capitalization (regions, titles, Peoples and Nations, subjects, titles of works).

How to help at home:

  • The proofreader's walk turns signs and menus into practice. Talk about why businesses sometimes break the rules.
  • When your child writes about First Nations, Métis or Inuit peoples, check capitalization and that specific Nation names are spelled as the communities spell them.

Common difficulties:

  • Apostrophes in plain plurals (apple's, the Smith's).
  • Hyphenating compound adjectives after the verb (The book is well-written). Most guides drop the hyphen there.
  • Capitalizing seasons, school subjects and directions; forgetting to capitalize regions and the names of Peoples.