apostrophe
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++a·pos·tro·phe /əˈpɒstrəfi $ əˈpɑː-/ noun [countable] a) SLAthe sign (') that is used in writing to show that numbers or letters have been left out, as in ‘don’t’ (=do not) and ’86 (=1986) 撇号，省字符〔用于表示数字或字母的省略〕 b) CONNECTED WITHthe same sign used before ‘s’ to show that something belongs to someone or something, or is connected with them, as in ‘John’s book’, or ‘Charles’ mother’, or ‘Henry’s first year as a teacher’ 撇号，所有格符号〔用于s之前表示所有格〕 c) SLAthe same sign used before ‘s’ to show the plural of letters and numbers as in “Your r’s look like v’s.” 撇号，复数符号 〔用于s之前表示字母或数字的复数〕
Examples from the Corpus
apostrophe• The Romantic plays increase the interrogations, apostrophes, abrupt interruptions, exclamations and leaders that were so evident in sentimental comedy.• For single quotes or apostrophes leave out the Shift key.• The basic idea is this: use apostrophes to show that one thing owns, or possesses, another.Origin apostrophe (1500-1600) French Late Latin apostrophus, from Greek, from apostrephein “to turn away”, from apo- ( → APOCALYPSE) + strephein “to turn”a·pos·tro·phe nounChineseSyllable
used is (') writing sign in that the Corpus
apostrophe
a‧pos‧tro‧phe /əˈpɒstrəfi $ əˈpɑː-/
noun [countable]
a. the sign (‘) that is used in writing to show that numbers or letters have been left out, as in ’don’t' (=do not) and '86 (=1986)
b. the same sign used before ‘s’ to show that something belongs to someone or something, or is connected with them, as in ‘John’s book’, or ‘Charles’ mother', or ‘Henry’s first year as a teacher’
c. the same sign used before ‘s’ to show the plural of letters and numbers as in ‘Your r’s look like v’s’.
■ types of punctuation mark
▪apostrophe the sign ' that is used to show that one or more letters or numbers have been left out, as in don’t, or used before ‘s’ to show that something belongs to someone or something, as in Mark’s dog
▪brackets British English, parentheses AmE and BrE formal a pair of signs used for enclosing information that interrupts a sentence
▪colon the sign : that is used to introduce an explanation, example, quotation etc
▪semicolon the sign ; that is used to separate words in a list, or different parts of a sentence that can be understood separately
▪comma the sign , that is used to separate things in a list, or between two clauses in a sentence
▪hyphen the sign – that is used to join words or syllables
▪dash the sign — that is used to separate two closely related parts of a sentence, especially in more informal English
▪full stop British English, period American English the sign . that is used to mark the end of a sentence or the short form of a word
▪exclamation mark British English, exclamation point American English the sign ! that is used after a sentence or word that expresses surprise, anger, or excitement
▪question mark the sign ? that is used at the end of a question
▪quotation marks (also inverted commas British English) a pair of signs ‘ and ’ that are put around words, especially to show that you are quoting what someone has said
a‧pos‧tro‧phe /əˈpɒstrəfi $ əˈpɑː-/
noun [countable] Date: 1500-1600
Language: French
Origin: Late Latin apostrophus, from Greek, from apostrephein 'to turn away', from apo- ( ⇨ apocalypse) + strephein 'to turn'
Language: French
Origin: Late Latin apostrophus, from Greek, from apostrephein 'to turn away', from apo- ( ⇨ apocalypse) + strephein 'to turn'
a. the sign (‘) that is used in writing to show that numbers or letters have been left out, as in ’don’t' (=do not) and '86 (=1986)
b. the same sign used before ‘s’ to show that something belongs to someone or something, or is connected with them, as in ‘John’s book’, or ‘Charles’ mother', or ‘Henry’s first year as a teacher’
c. the same sign used before ‘s’ to show the plural of letters and numbers as in ‘Your r’s look like v’s’.
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