Basic English grammar

Parts of speech

The parts of speech that are relevant to the writing of attribute text for use in Oracle Policy Modeling rules are listed below.

For example:

Apostrophes

Many people are confused about when to use the apostrophe. It is important that you understand how to use apostrophes correctly when writing Oracle Policy Modeling attribute text.

There are two main uses of the apostrophe:

to form the possessives of nouns
to show omission of letters

Apostrophes are not used:

for possessive pronouns
for noun plurals

Forming the possessives of nouns

Apostrophes are used when indicating the possession or ownership of nouns. Follow the rules below when making the possessive of a noun:

add 's to singular forms of the noun

the girl's coat

James's house
add 's to plural forms of the noun that do not end in –s

the children's toys

the geese's feathers
add ' to plural forms of the noun that end in –s

five days' work

houses' fences
add 's to the last noun to show joint possession of an object

Sally and John's dog

the individual and the company's agreement

Showing omission of letters

Contractions are formed by combining one or more words into a new word, usually by omitting one or more letters. The apostrophe is used to indicate this omission.

Examples of contractions are:

it's = it is
you'll = you will
who's = who is
shouldn't = should not
let's = let us

Note that contractions are used in more informal styles of writing and speech and should not be used in Oracle Policy Modeling attributes.