The Chipmunk of Doom is in a snit. He set off for the market early this morning to get the ingredients for his holiday baking…but instead of the pleasant cinnamon-scented experience he’d been hoping for, he was accosted left and right by misbehaving apostrophes. It’s enough to drive a chipmunk nuts!
Up and down the aisles he stomped, turning up his nose at the Orange’s and Fig’s for Sale in the produce section, only to be confronted with a towering display of Mrs. Ices’ Nice Spice’s.
He whirled…
and twirled…
and swirly-swirled…
in a dizzy dance
of Dearys Dough’s Made to Order
and Organic Chocolate’s $3.00
and I Cant Believe Its Not Acorn’s…
…until he belly-flop-plopped…
gasping and clawing…
in Aisle 8.
And there, looming above him like some mocking giant, this sign:
Now that was just downright insulting! He might have been in a tizzy, but the Chipmunk of Doom saw no cause for name calling!
Indignant but determined, our fluffy friend peeled himself off the floor, abandoned his cart, and marched home to scribble these basic rules for using apostrophes. He implores us all to put those apostrophes where they belong so he can get back to his baking in peace!
THE CHIPMUNK OF DOOM’S EASY GUIDE TO APOSTROPHES*
ALWAYS USE APOSTROPHES TO…
Form contractions
- I am nuts about acorn pie. –> I’m nuts about acorn pie.
- He has never been to a shindig like that! –> He’s never been to a shindig like that!
- It is never too late to learn the tango. –> It’s never too late to learn the tango.
- Who is up for a game of marbles? –> Who’s up for a game of marbles?
- Geraldine has been singing far too long. –> Geraldine’s been singing far too long.
Be sure to place the apostrophe where the letters were removed! (You can learn more about contractions here.)
Show possession
- For a singular noun and compound words, write the noun and then add ‘s—yes, even if the noun already ends in s!
[LIST] - I like the chipmunk’s dandy hat.
- His left shoe’s buckle has come undone.
- No one enjoyed our sister-in-law’s stew.
- James’s dragon adores buttermilk. (NOTE: James’ dragon is also acceptable, though the ‘s form is preferred. The important thing is to be consistent.)
[*]For a plural noun that ends in s or es, write the noun and add an apostrophe.
- The trees’ big leaves make a lovely bed. (the leaves of several trees)
- Sh! Arthur is napping in the foxes’ den. (the den of several foxes)
- She stumbled into town after five days’ journey. (a journey of several days)
- The Joneses’ cat ate all our tulips. (a cat belonging to the entire Jones family)
[*]For a plural noun that does not end in s or es, write the noun and then add ‘s.
- The children’s pies are all burnt.
- The geese’s feathers tickled our noses.
NEVER USE APOSTROPHES WITH…
Plural words
- Never add apostrophes to plural nouns or names! Plural nouns don’t own anything and are delicious just the way they are.
- Our goats love to play with balloons, especially when they’re filled with crackers.
- The Sanchezes and the Joneses will be here at noon to pick up the otters.
Possessive pronouns
- Possessive pronouns—his, hers, its, yours, ours, theirs, whose—already show possession, so there’s no need to add an apostrophe.
- Whose horse is parked in the sitting room?
- These seven bears must be hers, because they’re certainly not ours!
If we all follow these simple rules, the Chipmunk of Doom has promised to whip up some of his tasty acorn pudding and pass it around. Let’s make the guy happy, for goodness’ sake!
*This is a basic guide and not exhaustive. The Chipmunk of Doom cordially invites interested parties to ask further questions in the comments!
P.S. The Chipmunk of Doom adheres to The Chicago Manual of Style. Other style books may have slight variations.
About Renée LaTulippe
This is a really cute basic way to teach apostrophes! I am going to show my kids this to help reinforce what they are learning.
Very cute. Children need a variety of continual grammar reinforcements and reminders. Maybe they’ll remember the Chipmunk of Doom :)
I am always looking for fun ways to reinforce grammar rules. It’s funny to see how an apostrophe here or there can change the entire meaning of a sentence.
This is great! Since it’s not childish, I can use it with adults. THANK YOU for this and other learning helps. I work with non-native English speakers and they regularly throw apostrophes around! This commentary from the squirrel will really help.
Thanks so much. This is great reinforcement. We just did contractions and possesive words recently so this will go a long way for my 2nd grader! The chipmunk sure will bring humor to our grammar lesson.
I love the fun way this is taught. I’ll use it with my students along with macaroni for the apostrophes, or is that apostrophe’s? Oh well, perhaps the chipmunk will help me out!
This is really timely as apostrophes have just invaded my son’s work; just like a swarm. I know he’ll love the story.
Cute idea! Can’t wait to introduce this to the my kiddo!
The Taylor girls would love to win the apostrophe book.
Rose’s apostrophes (when one is added) often look like commas, parentheses, quarter moons, or smiley faces. Her sisters’ apostrophes hang where they should unless they are hanging where they shouldn’t. Mom’s apostrophes sometimes question their location, too. We’re nuts here about apostrophes. :)
This is my new favorite quote! HA!
@SusieQ – Great, the CoD is glad you find this helpful for your ESL students. Would love to hear more about what does and doesn’t work for you in teaching grammar…if you have time, pop over to the grammar forum and let us know!
My son and I love the Chipmunk of Doom! William says the little fellow’s beseeching expression fits exactly how he, himself feels about grammar. We have just started studying the apostrophe and its cousin the quotation mark.
When I was young, if I didn’t know exactly where to put the apostrophe, I would put it above the s and hope that the teacher assumed I got it right….so my kids can’t get away with this trick since I practically invented it! LOL! Thx for the Blog post!
Enjoy your creative humor in bringing attention to the importance of proper usage :)
Several nights ago my 4 yo exclaimed, “Look, Mama! The moon is an apostrophe tonight!” Perhaps it’s time to introduce her to the Cod. :)
Making learning fun is what helps the concepts stick around. You have done a wonderful job of this!
What a great way to write about apostrophes. Always looking for creative ways to teach the kids.
Funny, I have always had a difficult time with knowing where to put the apostrophe at the end of a plural noun ending in s. For example; Jesus or Jesus’. This book would be nice to have for reference…Thanks for the opportunity to win it.
Blessings,
Lori
I would love to have this for teaching my !ESL students
Too funny! I will definitely have to share this with my kids! Thanks!
I love the Chipmunk of Doom! Finally, I do not feel like a weird grammar fanatic for noticing all the grammatical errors in the world. :> (I laughed hysterically when I read Eats, Shoots & Leaves and my husband thought I was crazy) Thanks for my morning chuckle and the motivation to keep teaching my kids to speak correctly, regardless of what they see or hear elsewhere! Keep the stories coming . . .
Thank you! You answered a question I had about using an apostrophe with “children” :) I love the fun way you teach.
This is a creative and wonderful method of teaching proper usage of apostrophes, which I find are used incorrectly quite frequently these days.
Thank you for the post. Such a great reminder on how to use punctuation. I think it is something that public schools let slide way too much. I see improper use of apostrophes all the time. Your Chipmunk of Doom is very cute.
Thank you for the post. Such a great reminder on how to use punctuation. I think it is something that public schools let slide way too much. I see improper use of apostrophes all the time. Your Chipmunk of Doom is very cute.
Thanks for the apostrophe reminder…I see these used wrong quite a lot. Cute chipmunk!
Thank you! Such a cute and fun way to show the proper use of apostrophes.
Definitely going to show the kiddos this one. Wouldn’t be surprised if my youngest starts calling himself the Chipmunk of Doom…..haha
Definitely going to share this with the kiddos!
Great Information
This is great! I am going to share it on my FB. The overuse of apostrophes drives me crazy. {o;
Great way for visual learners to remember the rule with a cute friend.
I love the chipmunk of doom :) I love that all these other people like correct grammar! I don’t like being called picky when I notice lost apostrophes. Thank you!
What a fun way to help my kids remember correct grammer! Thanks for this!
Love it! Apostrophe abuse is one of my pet peeves! I have to stop myself from correcting signs! LOL!
Love it! Apostrophe abuse is one of my pet peeves! I have to stop myself from correcting signs! LOL!
Apostrophe abuse is one of my pet peeves! I have to stop myself from correcting signs! LOL!
I love this! I hate seeing grammar errors in public places. Fun way to help my kids remember the rules.
So cute! I’m new to AAS/AAR and am excited to share this with my kids!
What a cute way to illustrate this. Thrilled to find a blog highlighting grammar rules like this. Adults need it as well as kids!
I love this post. So many of us don’t know the correct usage – i’m usually at a loss to explain the rules to friends whose grammar is even worse than mine, so i posted a link to my facebook page. Thanks!
I’m a grammar geek, too! Love the squirrel and your products! Thanks for sharing!
Love these cute ways to facilitate learning!
This is such a fun way to learn! Love it!
Thank you so much for all of your creative ideas. I don’t always have time to read each of them when they arrive in my inbox, but I know where to go when I come to a problem with reading!
Thank you for this post! One day, all sign companies will be educated on this topic, and I will finally be able to sleep at night. Improper placement of apostrophes drives me crazy! Just to add another – because I’m from the south – it is y’all, NOT ya’ll. Thanks. :)
Thanks for the tips!
What a cute story! My kids will love this story. The use of apostrophes can get so confusing to them. Thanks :)
My kids will love this! I am constantly asking “what belongs to the ___” when they use an apostrophe and an s instead of just a plural s. This will be far more entertaining and memorable for all of them. You always have such creative ideas. Thanks for a great program and wonderful customer support.
Love this!
Thanks for this, I had trouble with this for a long time. I would love to buy your program, it looks like it would really help me be a better speller too and makes a lot of sense. I don’t have the budget for it yet but it is on my wish list.
Love this. I am constantly frustrated at apostrophe errors (by adults, or should that be adult’s ;) and appreciate your clearly written list of rules in this post. Comma errors come in as a close second for editorial frustration! I know I worked hard with my first graders to get it right from the get go so that they didn’t learn bad habits. Now I get to teach those lessons to my kiddos at home. Thanks for the humor in your post, making an otherwise dry subject fun!
I love this! I’m always explaining to my 15 year old how important it is to know how to write well. He doesn’t understand why I’m “harping” about proper use of grammer. He calls me the Grammer Nazi!! LOL
Oh, that is such a pet peeve of mine. In today’s texting and facebook world, people are leaving behind proper spelling AND punctuation. Very annoying. I’m not going to let my kids have such poor English skills. We are NOT going to go nuts with poor grammar. ;)
Very fun idea and good tips, thanks!
The use of apostrophes and commas is always so tricky, but the misuse of apostrophe’s (<–hee, hee) always seems to be more of a challenge for people. Remembering the story and rules you shared would be helpful. I probably would have said something to the store manager because seeing all of those improperly written signs would have made me nuts.
I have a question. I just commented on another post and wondered how I should write “my 5 and 7 year olds”. I didn’t add an apostrophe to “olds” because I thought it was a plural situation…but now no rule seems to really apply. I’m guessing I should have said “my boys, who are five and seven”?! :)
Hi Abby! Since 5-year-old would be hyphenated in this context, you would need to keep those hyphens even if you are writing about two kids. So it would go like this: “my five- and seven-year-olds” or “my 5- and 7-year-olds.” You were right to avoid the apostrophe because “5- and 7-year-olds” is a plural noun, not a possessive. It does look strange, though, doesn’t it?! :)
Oh wow, I completely forgot about the hyphens! Thanks, Renee!
You bet! Those compound nouns get tricky…
Great post. Seeing apostrophe’s used for plural’s always makes me crazy :). Along the same lines, I saw this slogan printed on the window of an advertising agency the other day: “A breath of fresh creative.” (hmm…)
I love it.
Adorably memorable!
Misused apostrophes drive me CRAZY! Have you ever read Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynn Truss? She talks about having an apostrophe guerrilla group, in which members would have stickers, stencils, and spray paint so they could fix signs and such with inappropriate apostrophes. It’s an older book but well worth the read – I laughed myself silly. My girls, bless them, misuse apostrophes and we are working on that – they know how crazy it makes me, LOL! I think they would get a kick out of the chipmunk of doom so I will definitely show this to them. Thanks!
Oh yes, I have Eats, Shoots & Leaves right next to me on the grammar shelf. It is a fun read, indeed. I’ve also found several blogs dedicated to guerrilla warfare against apostrophe atrocities — funny stuff! :) In fact, I think one of the best ways to teach apostrophes is to point them out around town and let the kids decide if they are used correctly or not and why. More fun than a worksheet any day!
I love Chipmunk of Doom and the humorous entries about apostrophes! Apostrophes are so overworked these days. So often, plurals are given apostrophes. I wonder why. Back in the day – that day so long ago when I was in grade school – it was clearly taught, and pretty simple.
If learning was this interesting in school, maybe adults everywhere wouldn’t be driving me crazy on facebook and in emails.
Love it!
Love the chipmunk of doom! This is just the sort of thing that goes over well with my daughter – thanks!
I love how short and concise this list of handy-dandy rules has been put. Thanks!
Ditto. Will use this my students too!
I love the story! I will be using this as we learn about apostrophes.
Love it. I wish more adults got this right!
LOL, I just misplaced an apostrophe in a comment today and was mortified. It really is important!
Perfect! Just the right amount of information for my little right brainer to grasp. And to keep me from going nuts!
Ha Ha–too cute! Definitely bookmarking this!!
Love the chipmunk! I’m afraid that apostrophes will be the next casualty, as they are used and misused with greater and greater confusion. Will they soon be abandoned as too difficult to type on small electronic screens and too difficult to understand anywhere? That’s what I fear, as I constantly see references to “mom’s” and “banana’s” when plural is meant.
My kids love the Chipmunk of Doom!
This is great! My kids will love the CoD when we get to that…for now I just love that my little guy is figuring out how to read simple words…love everything about this company and this blog!
This is fantastic! Do you have a story for commas?
Love the story! Thanks for the laugh
So cute! And my kids would love this because they have some obsession with calling any random thing the “_______ of doom”: could be the car of doom, the bed of doom, the toothbrush of doom, etc. Thanks again!
I used your story in my second. Grade class for my lesson on homophones (your and you’re). The children loved it.
Love this! Thanks!
Cute idea! Thanks!
I *love* the Chipmunk of Doom! Thanks for the laugh!
grateful!
Thank you! Now my son and I will have fun learning the proper use of apostrophes.
This was great! Thanks!
Just used this as today’s (hope I used that apostrophe correctly) lesson for my 8 yr old.
Fun way to remember how to correctly use an apostrophe. Thanks!
I love the chipmunk. Apostrophe misuse drives me nuts too.
Awesome!!! My kids and I loved it!!
I loved this post as apostrophes and their misuses are one of my pet peeves. I read the story to my kids (they thought it was great) and then used the list of contractions on a related post to teach them how to use the apostrophe in contractions. They seem to have done a lot better with them since then. Thanks!
My kids have always had issues with apostrophes, I think they are one of the hardest punctuation rules to learn!