Apostrophe Exercise: Combining Sentences with Possessive Nouns

This exercise will give you practice in applying some of the principles introduced in Using Apostrophes Correctly.

Combine the sentences in each set below, changing the word order so that the nouns in bold show possession. Supply an apostrophe or an apostrophe plus -s wherever necessary. Here's an example:

• Original: Tubby sings. His singing drives me crazy.
• Combined: Tubby's singing drives me crazy.

If you run into any problems completing this exercise, review the pages on Using Apostrophes Correctly and Introduction to Sentence Combining. When you are done, compare your responses with the sample combinations at the bottom of the page.

1. Our neighbors have a dog.
   It chews gum.
   It drinks rum.



2. My grandfather lives in the playhouse.
   The playhouse is in the back yard.
   The playhouse belongs to our children.



3. Donna has a younger sister.
   Her younger sister lives in the Yukon.
   Her younger sister is a lumberjack.



4. Do you remember the World Series?
   The World Series was last year.
   Do you remember which team won?



5. Keith owns a Volkswagen bus.
   The bus is old.
   It was stolen last night.
   It was abandoned in a junk yard.



6. I enjoy the sonnets of Shakespeare.
   For this reason I read them.
   I read them at least once a year.



7. The newspaper came out this morning.
   The newspaper said that the concert had been canceled.
   The concert was supposed to be tonight.



8. The pick-up truck crushed the motorcycle.
   The pick-up truck belongs to Oliver.
   The motorcycle belongs to Linda.



9. The Johnsons have a garden.
   It is a vegetable garden.
   Raccoons visit the garden frequently.
   The racoons enjoy a midnight snack there.



10. We watched the puppy.
    The puppy belongs to my neighbor.
    The puppy chewed a slipper.
    The slipper belongs to my sister.

SAMPLE COMBINATIONS

1. Our neighbors' dog chews gum and drinks rum.
2. My grandfather lives in the children's playhouse in the back yard.
3. Donna's younger sister is a lumberjack in the Yukon.
4. Do you remember which team won lost year's World Series?
5. Keith's old Volkswagen bus was stolen last night and abandoned in a junk yard.
6. Because I enjoy Shakespeare's sonnets, I read them at least once a year.
7. This morning's newspaper said that tonight's concert had been canceled.
8. Oliver's pick-up truck crushed Linda's motorcycle.
9. Raccoons frequently visit the Johnsons' vegetable garden to enjoy a midnight snack there.
10. We watched our neighbor's puppy chew my sister's slipper.