Valentine`s Day!

Valentine`s Day is coming soon! As you know, it is February 14.

From what I have heard, Valentine`s Day in Japan is mostly about girls giving chocolates to boys. Later, on “White Day”, the boys will treat the girls back.

In Canada, it’s a bit different. We don’t have any “White Day”. We only have Valentine’s Day to celebrate friendships and relationships. Usually, it’s the boys who will do nice things for the girls on Valentine’s Day. For example, a boy will give flowers to his girlfriend or a husband will bring his wife to a nice restaurant. Sometimes, the girls will also do something nice for the boys but it’s mostly the boys who have the pressure to do something special for their partner.

Valentine is also about friendship. Younger boys and girls can exchange valentine cards and be each other’s “valentines” for the day.

On Valentine Day, make sure you tell the people you love how you feel. You can tell your parents, your brothers, yours sisters or anyone you appreciate!

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English tip of the week!

How to use the apostrophe ( ‘ ).

The Oxford Dictionary says: The apostrophe is a punctuation mark ( ’ ) used to indicate either possession (e.g., Harry’s book; boys’s coats) or the omission of letters or numbers (e.g., can’t; he’s; class of ’99).

So when you use ( ‘s ) , it is almost the same thing as の. 

Example : Harry’s book  = ハリの本

This is what they mean by saying,“ indicates possession “.

You can also use the apostrophe to replace letters or numbers. This can make some words shorter.

Examples;

It is = It’s

Should not = Shouldn’t

Could not = Couldn’t

I will = I’ll

It was in `95 = It was in 1995

It can also be used to show how some people speak even if it’s not proper written English.

Examples;

“Hi y’all!” (Means; “Hi you all!”)

“Wat’chadoin’ ?” (Means; “What are you doing?” – this is really not good written English :p)

Can you try to find all the apostrophes ( ` ) in my text about Valentine`s Day?

Can you say if it is used to indicate possession or the replace other letters?