Today’s two grammar tips:
- If you have trouble remembering how to deal with apostrophes when forming singular and plural possessives, this should help. The boy’s toy = one boy, one toy. The boys’ toy = two or more boys sharing a single toy. The boys’ toys = two or more boys with two or more toys.
- Don’t use a comma every time you see a conjunction. It’s correct to write, “Jane went to bed, and she slept soundly all night.” That’s an example of a compound sentence with two independent clauses; the rule is that when joining two independent clauses with a conjunction (in this case “and”), place a comma before the conjunction. It’s also correct to write, “Jane went to bed and slept soundly all night.” This is a single sentence with a compound verb (the words “went” and “slept”), and there’s no need for a comma before the conjunction “and.”
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