GCSE EnglishGCSE English

Technical Skills

ApostropheApostrophe2 main uses: omission and possessionOmission – it replaces a letter that has been left out

I could not find my socks becomes I couldn’t find my socks

It is a cold day becomes It’s a cold dayThe traffic is awful becomes The traffic’s awful.

It can replace more than 1 letterIt has been a great day becomes It’s been a great day.You should have started earlier becomes You should’ve started earlier.They had overslept becomes They’d overslept.

The apostrophe contd.The apostrophe contd.Possession denotes belonging to something.

The dog’s bowl – i.e. the bowl belongs to the dog.Jacob’s sister, Emma’s mistake, Malik’s birthday.

If it belongs to more than 1 person or thing, the apostrophe goes at the end.

The students’ books (there were several students, they all had some books)The student’s books (just 1 student and s/he had some books).

However, note the children’s toys and the women’s room, where the noun is already plural.

It’s/itsIt’s/itsThe only time it’s/its has an apostrophe is for

omission, never possession.

So: It’s time to go. (short for It is…) It’s been a great holiday. (short for It has been…)

But: The snake shed its skin after a few months. The pony and its rider galloped over the hills.

And: “It’s a lovely day, let’s go for a walk,” said the owner, as the dog wagged its tail.

The apostrophe contd.The apostrophe contd.NEVER use the apostrophe just to make

something plural!Ask yourself if there is a good reason for inserting an apostrophe. If not, don’t do it.

So: There are 2 car’s in the driveway - no possession denoted, no missing letter, therefore this is WRONG.

One of the most common mistakes when using the apostrophe is inserting it where it doesn’t belong.

Speech marksSpeech marksSpeech marks denote what someone actually says. Examples: “This is a great movie,” said the film critic. The film critic said, “This is a great movie.”“This,” said the film critic, “is a great movie.”

But: The film critic said that it was a great movie. This is “indirect” or “reported” speech. Note that it is in the past tense (“was”), although what the film critic actually said was, “This is a great movie.” (present tense).

Things to look out forThings to look out for• Punctuation goes inside speech marks.• If it is a question or exclamation, the punctuation

needs to reflect that.

Common mistakes:• Often one of the speech marks will be missing.• Punctuation before the end of speech marks is

often left out.• Indirect speech often has speech marks put in.

The commaThe commaThree main uses:•To separate items in a list.•To punctuate speech marks.•To mark out clauses in sentences.

Commas can not take the place of a full stop. In modern writing, many people use a comma where a full stop is actually needed.

If in doubt, put in a full stop and begin a new sentence.

Items in a listItems in a listExamples:I went shopping and bought a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, three shirts and four ties.In a list, a comma cannot go next to “and”.So: A sweatshirt, three shirts and four ties but NOT A sweatshirt, three shirts, and four ties.You could use a colon before the list, especially if it is a long list. So:For my birthday, I would like: a bike, a scooter, an iPod, lots of chocolate, a train set, a phone and new trainers.

The comma contd.The comma contd.A word or phrase might be used at the start of a sentence to add extra meaning. This often has a comma after it.Examples:First of all, I switched the computer on.However, I would also like to watch ‘Godfather 2’.All of a sudden, Bradley Wiggins was hit by a van.Unfortunately, your attendance has not been very good.These are simple examples of marking the main

clause by a comma.

Semi-colonsSemi-colons• Use a semi-colon between two connected, but

independent clauses, not joined by a conjunction.

Eg – Try this one; red seems to be your colour.

Your car is a nice red; mine is a bit dull.

His mother won’t let him; she is afraid he might

get hurt.

Semi-colons continuedSemi-colons continued• Use a semi-colon to avoid confusion in a list when the items

are long and complicated.

• Eg Among those present were Dr Jones, Mr Smith, Miss Brown and Mrs Chaterjee.

• BUT

• Among those present were Dr Jones, head of the city council; Mr Smith, headteacher of Anytown Academy; Miss Brown, the local MP and Mrs Chaterjee, Health and Safety Advisor to schools in Lancashire.

Common Traps - 1 Common Traps - 1

Accept (receive) Except (not)Affect (a verb) Effect (usually a noun)Stationary (still) Stationery (pencils etc)

Have a go at using each of these words in a sentence of your own.

Common traps - 2Common traps - 2

• Could/should/would have not could/should/would of

• Too/two/to• There/their/they’re• A lot not alot

Some general spelling Some general spelling rulesrules

When a verb ends in ‘e’ this is dropped if ‘ing’ is addedSkate becomes skatingEmanate becomes emanatingDecide becomes deciding

ant/entMost words end in ‘ent’ rather than ‘ant’

DependentConfidentPatient

Spelling ContinuedSpelling Continued our drops the ‘u’ when ‘ous’ is added

Humour becomes humorousGlamour becomes glamorous

‘y’ is dropped and ‘ies’ added to make a plural nounTreaty becomes treatiesNappy becomes nappies

UNLESS there is a vowel before the ‘y’Donkey becomes donkeysBoy becomes boysTray becomes trays

Spelling continuedSpelling continued• When 'ful’ is added to a word it just has one 'l'. If

you add 'ly' to any word ending with 'ful' you keep the existing 'l'.

• Example• hand + full = handful• rest + full = restful • restful + ly = restfully

Some Spelling Some Spelling StrategiesStrategies

• Say it carefully.• Say it in syllables: se/pa/rate.• Spelling is visual too – look at the

whole word and tell yourself about it.• Look at the tricky bit (often the

middle).• Read and write a lot.