Contact Information

This site uses the
Oxford English dictionary spelling

The Writing Centre

Moriset Hall
Room 0036 Ottawa, ON
Canada K1N 6N5

No telephone writing help available
Tel.: 613 562-5800 ext. 2267

No online writing help available
E-mail:
writcent@uOttawa.ca

 

X Oops!

Question:
Children sometimes knock at the Wilsons' door, as if taunting the couple to show themselves, but neither the old man nor his sister ever answers.
Answer:
The answer Incorrect is not correct.
Explanation:
"Wilsons"' is the correct possessive form of the plural noun "Wilsons." You need the first comma before the parenthetical phrase "as if taunting the couple to show themselves," and you need the second before the co-ordinating conjunction "but," which links the two independent clauses.
 

© University of Ottawa
For additional information, consult our list of contacts.
Last updated: 2007.08.16