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Original poster

To not understand this homework! Please help!

60 replies

ThatEdgyHedgehog · 02/05/2024 12:16

Please help, I am trying to help (or at least I was last night) with this apostrophe task. I thought I understood. It seems I do not.

In the forest, the wolves' howls’ echoed as the trees' branches’ swayed in the wind. Underground, in the foxes' home, they huddled together to get warm. In the trees’, the squirrel’s feet pattered as they scrambled up and down the branches’ looking for food.

Is that correct? Why does branches have an apostrophe? Howls'?

OP posts:
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5yearsago3000milesaway · 02/05/2024 22:21

Gridhopper · 02/05/2024 12:27

There’s no way of knowing if it should be squirrel’s or squirrels’ because the ‘they’ could indicate plural squirrels or an unspecified gender squirrel! So both would be right.

In fairness, the task on the worksheet does say that they are plural possessive nouns, but we didn't have that information on the thread, which makes it less clear.

To not understand this homework! Please help!
Notellinganyone · 02/05/2024 21:20

It’s a rubbish task though. No one ever writes the trees’ branches.

skilpadde · 02/05/2024 19:23

OneWorldly4 · 02/05/2024 17:45

Can a teacher answer this once and for all?!!

No teacher required; the answer from @takealettermsjones - 3 minutes after it was first posted - was absolutely spot on.

queenMab99 · 02/05/2024 18:33

It becomes clear when you know, what the apostrophe is for. The job of the apostrophe is to denote possession. So for example - the wolves' howls. The howls belong to the wolves, so we use an apostrophe after the S because there are many wolves which is plural. If it was one wolf howling, the wolf is singular, so it would have an apostrophe before the S, as in wolf's howls.

Randomname83738 · 02/05/2024 18:12

takealettermsjones · 02/05/2024 12:19

It should be:

In the forest, the wolves' howls echoed as the trees' branches swayed in the wind. Underground, in the foxes' home, they huddled together to get warm. In the trees, the squirrels' feet pattered as they scrambled up and down the branches looking for food.

Assuming there are several wolves, trees, foxes and squirrels. If any of these are singular then it changes.

This

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 02/05/2024 18:01

Assuming there are several wolves, trees, foxes and squirrels. If any of these are singular then it changes

Wolves and foxes can't be singular. Squirrels can't be singular here either, because of 'they' further on in the sentence. Trees very unlikely to be singular in that sentence unless it's a forest with only one tree in it.

Wow, that answer booklet was very, very wrong, OP!

Delphiniumandlupins · 02/05/2024 17:52

takealettermsjones · 02/05/2024 12:19

It should be:

In the forest, the wolves' howls echoed as the trees' branches swayed in the wind. Underground, in the foxes' home, they huddled together to get warm. In the trees, the squirrels' feet pattered as they scrambled up and down the branches looking for food.

Assuming there are several wolves, trees, foxes and squirrels. If any of these are singular then it changes.

Agreed

OneWorldly4 · 02/05/2024 17:45

Can a teacher answer this once and for all?!!

AGlinnerOfHope · 02/05/2024 16:12

They is great for a single non specific employee. It’s not so good for a person whose gender is being obscured.
It genuinely mangles sense of the message. As in ‘they no longer do drum lessons’, suggesting the organisation has closed rather than my neighbour’s child having stopped taking lessons.
One could have begun a community awareness and fund raising campaign to reinstate the lessons, had one not suddenly twigged. 😬

Nevercloserfortherestofourlives · 02/05/2024 16:09

Eg
’My child dresses themself’ or
’My child tells me their age’
My grammar isn’t good enough to understand the subtleties and sorry to derail the thread.

But the advice re apostrophies is sound.

Nevercloserfortherestofourlives · 02/05/2024 16:05

Gridhopper · 02/05/2024 15:46

Not a joke! ‘They’ existed as a neutral singular pronoun way before any trans malarkey. E.g.

When a new employee joins the company, they should be entered onto the payroll system.

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I stand corrected. Thank you.
There must be grammatical rules for this use of ‘they’.
Just gone down a fascinating rabbit hole re pronouns. The reflexive pronoun ‘themself’ can, arguably but not definitively be used as the singular of ‘themselves’. This dates back 600.
Going back to google some more.

Original poster
ThatEdgyHedgehog · 02/05/2024 16:03

I'm enjoying the squirrel discussion. Thanks everyone, the answer sheet I found online was incorrect and I had assumed it was my dodgy understanding!

OP posts:
Gridhopper · 02/05/2024 15:46

Nevercloserfortherestofourlives · 02/05/2024 15:38

Haha
Hope this is a joke.

Show quote history

Not a joke! ‘They’ existed as a neutral singular pronoun way before any trans malarkey. E.g.

When a new employee joins the company, they should be entered onto the payroll system.

Nevercloserfortherestofourlives · 02/05/2024 15:44

MontyDonsBlueScarf · 02/05/2024 12:35

You don't know this for sure, 'as they pattered' could refer to the multiple feet of one squirrel.

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In which case the feet themselves would have ‘scrambled up and down the branches looking for food’

Little squirrelly feet looking for their own food. 😀

Nevercloserfortherestofourlives · 02/05/2024 15:39

MontyDonsBlueScarf · 02/05/2024 12:35

You don't know this for sure, 'as they pattered' could refer to the multiple feet of one squirrel.

Show quote history

They doesn’t refer to one squirrel. It refers to more than one.

cathcath2 · 02/05/2024 15:38

Twink answer sheet downloaded 1 minute ago

To not understand this homework! Please help!
Nevercloserfortherestofourlives · 02/05/2024 15:38

Gridhopper · 02/05/2024 12:27

There’s no way of knowing if it should be squirrel’s or squirrels’ because the ‘they’ could indicate plural squirrels or an unspecified gender squirrel! So both would be right.

Haha
Hope this is a joke.

VickyEadieofThigh · 02/05/2024 15:29

StasisMom · 02/05/2024 12:25

Howls, branches and trees shouldn't have an apostrophe as they are not in possession of anything.

The first occurrence of trees should - trees' branches.

MyOtherHusbandIsAWash · 02/05/2024 15:28

StasisMom · 02/05/2024 12:25

Howls, branches and trees shouldn't have an apostrophe as they are not in possession of anything.

They are in possession of the branches so the apostrophe on trees (trees’) is correct.

UrsulaBelle · 02/05/2024 15:25

Or were you being "funny?"

UrsulaBelle · 02/05/2024 15:24

malmi · 02/05/2024 14:59

Another thread full of people correcting the OP's use of apostrophes instead of actually offering any advice. Mumsnet used to be such a kind place. Shame

I think you've misunderstood. The homework was to correctly place the apostrophes. Which people have done.

BobbyBiscuits · 02/05/2024 15:02

Also the squirrels, referred to as they, so presumably plural squirrels so apostrophe after the s?

malmi · 02/05/2024 14:59

Another thread full of people correcting the OP's use of apostrophes instead of actually offering any advice. Mumsnet used to be such a kind place. Shame

Itloggedmeoutagain · 02/05/2024 14:55

VickyEadieofThigh · 02/05/2024 12:23

This is correct.

Show quote history

Another vote for this one

WinkyTinky · 02/05/2024 14:52

Be careful with Twinkl, they often make mistakes. My son was given a piece of homework in Y2 where he had to identify the correct word in a few sentences, two of which were, "The food was too spisy/spicey." Also, "The ball was very bounsy/bouncey."