How to Use Apostrophes
撇號怎麼用
Apostrophes have two important functions: One is that they can form a contraction if we're going to put two words together, and they can also show possession. So to start, I'll show you an example of a contraction. If I wanna say "It is cold out" and I want to put the words "it" and "is" together, I can use an apostrophe...to create a new word "it's." "It's cold out."
撇號有兩個重要功能：一是如果我們要把兩個字組在一起時，撇號可以形成縮短形，而這符號也能表示擁有。那麼一開始，我先舉一個縮短形的例子。如果我想說 It is cold out.(外面很冷)，然後我想把 it 和 is 放在一起，我可以用撇號...來創出 it's 這個新字。It's cold out.(外面很冷)。
Now I'm gonna show you how to use an apostrophe to show possession. Let's say that I get my hands on Bridget Jones's diary, and I read her diary cover to cover and I say, "Ms. Jones's diary is interesting." Well, if I want to show possession on a word that ends in "s," I add apostrophe s ('s). And now I've turned her name into a possessive. So, "Ms. Jones's diary is interesting." Again, I wanna show you an example of a word that ends in "s" so you can see how to appropriately use the apostrophe.
現在我要示範如何用撇號表示擁有。假設我拿到一本《BJ 單身日記》，我把她的日記從頭到尾讀完並說：「Ms. Jones's diary is interesting.(瓊斯小姐的日記真有趣)」。嗯，如果我想在一個字尾是 s 的字呈現所有格，我就加上撇號和 s ('s)。現在我把她的名字轉換成所有格了。所以，Ms. Jones's diary is interesting.(瓊斯小姐的日記真有趣)。再一次，我要給你看一個字尾是 s 的字的例子，這樣你就可以知道要如何正確使用撇號。
We do this when the word is singular. So in this case, it's one woman—it's Bridget Jones. And we show possession by adding an apostrophe s ('s) to her name. What happens if we have more than one Jones? Say, all of the Joneses have interesting diaries.
在單字是單數形態時我們這樣做。所以在這個例子中，那是一個女人－－Bridget Jones。我們在她的名字加上撇號和 s ('s)來表示擁有。萬一我們不只有一個 Jones 呢？比如說，Jones 全家都有有趣的日記。
Well, in this case, we wanna say "The Joneses' diaries are interesting." We have a word "the Joneses," which is unique in that it ends in an "s" and it's plural. So in this case, if we wanna make it possessive, we just add an apostrophe. We don't have to add an apostrophe s ('s) if the word is plural.
這個嘛，這個例子中，我們想說 The Joneses' diaries are interesting.(瓊斯一家人的日記很有趣)。我們有 the Joneses 這個詞，那很特別，因為它的字尾是 s 而且是複數形態。所以在這裡，如果我們想讓它變成所有格，我們只要加上撇號就行了。如果單字是複數形態，我們就不用加上撇號和 s ('s)。
So those are some instances when an apostrophe can be a little bit tricky. But, again, it's important to just remember that you use the apostrophe to show possession, and you can also use it to create a contraction.
那麼那就是一些撇號可能會有點難處理的例子。不過再說一次，這很重要，只要記得你用撇號來表示擁有，還有你也可以用它來寫出縮短形。
- 「把...弄到手、得到」- Get One's Hands On
Let's say that I get my hands on Bridget Jones's diary, and I read her diary cover to cover...
假設我拿到一本《BJ 單身日記》，我把她的日記從頭到尾讀完... - 「從頭到尾」- Cover To Cover
Let's say that I get my hands on Bridget Jones's diary, and I read her diary cover to cover...
假設我拿到一本《BJ 單身日記》，我把她的日記從頭到尾讀完... - 「因為、由於」- In That
We have a word "the Joneses," which is unique in that it ends in an "s" and it's plural.
我們有 the Joneses 這個詞，那很特別，因為它的字尾是 s 而且是複數形態。
