Possessive or Genitive Case Definition and Examples

Possessive or Genitive Case Definition and Examples Also Known As: possessive determiner, genitive case, second case In English grammar, possessive case is the case (or function) of an inflected form of a noun (Santas, the bosss) showing ownership, measurement, or source. In addition to the -s ending (a clitic), the possessive can be expressed with of, particularly when the possessor is not alive (the top floor of the building, the base of the statue). Possessive case also refers to a type of pronoun (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) or determiner (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) that indicates ownership, measurement, or source. (Note that his and its function as both pronouns and determiners.) Examples and Observations I will not hide the teachers Prozac.(Bart Simpson, The Simpsons)People who have given us their complete confidence believe that they have a right to ours. The inference is false: a gift confers no rights.(Friedrich Nietzsche)Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a persons character lies in their own hands.(Anne Frank)The winners edge is all in the attitude, not aptitude.(Denis Waitley)An Englishmans way of speaking absolutely classifies him.(Alan Jay Lerner)What precedes the possessive ending need not be a single-word compound but can be a phrase, as in my neighbor next doors dog, or even a clause, as in a woman I knows niece. (Laurel J. Brinton, The Structure of Modern English: A Linguistic Introduction. John Benjamins, 2000) Possessives Before Gerunds In your writing, when a pronoun appears before a gerund (an -ing verbal used as a noun), use the possessive case. We have tasted their cooking. In this example, cooking is used as a noun and is the direct object of have tasted. If a pronoun appears before a participle, use the objective case. We have watched them cooking. In this second example, cooking is used as a participle to describe them. (Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy, The Scribner Handbook for Writers, 3rd ed. Allyn and Bacon, 2001) The Decline of the Possessive Apostrophe The apostrophe is the stepchild of English orthography. It is neither fish nor fowl, typographers convenience, nor true punctuation...The possessive apostrophe is a grammatical anomaly, a vestigial case marker- appropriately shaped like the human appendix- in a noun system that has otherwise dispensed with cases... Evidence of its demise is apparent in newspapers, on billboards, on menus. Our students, understandably confused, alternately abuse it and feel abused by it... ...Thus we may contemplate with relative equanimity the eventual loss- for such seems inevitable in time- of the possessive apostrophe. We may mourn its passing and, perhaps, armed with grammar texts and rules (poor weapons at best) prolong its stay for awhile. But we cannot, nor should we wish to, preserve it indefinitely. We would do well to recognize that the outrages perpetrated upon the apostrophe by our students reflect an increasingly common practice outside the classroom, and temper the insistence of our lessons... ...And, when all is said and done, the loss will not be a great one.(Elizabeth S. Sklar, The Possessive Apostrophe: The Development and Decline of a Crooked Mark. College English, October 1976) Possessive and Genitive The genitive has also been called the possessive, since one of its meanings has been to denote the possessor of what is referred to by the second noun phrase, as in The couples home. But possession has to be interpreted liberally if it is to cover many instances of the genitive and the of-phrase. In a liberal interpretation, we could count as possession any connections between the two nouns where the verbs possess or have can be used in a paraphrase; for example, family relationships: Toms son (the son that Tom has). Mexico Citys(Sidney Greenbaum, The Oxford English Grammar. Oxford Univ. Press, 1996) False Possessives The apostrophe generally should not be used after a word that is more descriptive than possessive, except for a plural not ending in s: Explorers Hall, Diners Club, the Department of Veterans Affairs, teachers college but teachers guide, St. Elizabeths Hospital, Teamsters Union, visitors center, childrens hospital. But the Ladies Home Journal, the National Governors Association.(The National Geographic Style Manual. National Geographic Society, 2012) The Lighter Side of Possessives Cartman: Give me back my kidney! Stan: Dude, please, Kyle needs it! Cartman: Its mine! Not yours, mine! Give it back right now or theres going to be Hell to pay!(Cherokee Hair Tampons. South Park, 2000) Danny Butterman: All right, Pete?Nicholas Angel: Do you know this man?Danny Butterman: Yeah. Hes Auntie Jackies sisters brothers boy.(Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, Hot Fuzz, 2007) My best friends sisters boyfriends brothers girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid whos going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess its pretty serious.(Kristy Swanson as Simone, Ferris Buellers Day Off, 1986)

How to Use Extra Credit Effectively

How to Use Extra Credit Effectively The use of extra credit can be an effective teaching and learning tool in any content area classroom, but only if the extra credit is used in the correct manner. Generally, extra credit is offered to those students who want to bring up a GPA. Poor performance on a heavily weighted test or a paper or a project may have dropped a students overall grade. The opportunity for extra credit may be a motivational tool or a way to correct a misjudgment or miscommunication.  However,  if used incorrectly or inequitably, extra credit can also be a point of contention and a headache for the teacher.  Therefore, a teacher should take time to look at an offer for extra credit critically and consider the implications it may have for grading and assessment.   Pros of Using Extra Credit An extra credit assignment may provide students with an incentive to go above and beyond the class material. If it is used to enhance lessons, the offer for extra credit can help deepen the learning for students. It can also help struggling students by providing them with additional learning opportunities while allowing them a means to increase their grade. The extra credit may mirror the original assignment, be an alternative test, paper or project. There may be a section of an assessment that can be taken again or the student may suggest an alternative assignment.   Extra credit may also be in the form of revision. The process of revision, especially in writing assignments, can be used as a way to teach students to reflect on their progress and abilities in writing and take steps to strengthen it. Revision may serve to establish conferences to receive highly beneficial one-on-one attention. Rather than design new extra credit opportunities, a teacher should consider how he or she can reinforce the skills to improve student performance on a previously graded assignment.   Another method for extra credit is to give students a bonus question(s) on a quiz or test. There may be an option to answer an additional essay question or solve an additional word problem.   If extra credit is allowed, teachers may adopt the kinds of the assignments that are voluntary extra credit must still be assessed just as rigorously as the assessments for regular coursework. Perhaps there are extra credit opportunities that allow students to try extended activities such as inquiry projects based on  questions, problems, or scenarios. Students may choose to volunteer in the school community or in the community at large. By allowing the student the opportunity to choose how they will earn extra credit points could be a way to give them control over their academic achievement. After checking school policy, if you wish to offer extra credit in your class, you will need to make sure of the following: Do connect your extra credit to other lessons in class or to classroom pertinent current events.Do provide the same extra credit opportunities to all students.Do consider your grading time when assigning extra credit.Do make extra credit assignments interesting and pertinent for students.Do tell your students when you assign extra credit how much it will be worth and how you will grade it.Do make sure that you are not outweighing your required assignments with points for extra credit.Do set a clear deadline for when extra credit is due. Cons of Using Extra Credit On the other hand, too many opportunities for extra credit in a course could result in an  imbalance in grading. Extra credit assignments could outweigh the required assignments, and the result could mean that a student would pass a course without meeting all the standards.  Extra credit that is graded for a â€Å"completion† grade can skew an overall grade. In the same vein, some educators believe that extra credit reduces the importance of curriculum assessments by providing students with a way to circumvent the curriculum. These students could avoid  requirements by still have the ability to increase their grade. Moreover, an extra credit assignment could boost a GPA, but obscure a students actual academic ability. There are also some schools that have a no extra credit rule in their policy handbook. There are some districts that want to eliminate the extra work a teacher has to do after assigning extra credit. Some general rules to consider are: Do not create extra credit assignments that are unconnected to your curriculum or standards.Do not grade each students extra credit using different standards.Do not create so much extra credit that students are able to pass without completing the required work.Do not make spur of the moment extra credit opportunities that are not equally available to all students.Do not allow busy work like copying from a book to be extra creditDo not allow students to turn in late extra credit as this is just an accounting nightmare.Do not create extra credit assignments that the educational value is not equivalent to the student or teacher effort involved.