What if my answers are correct?
If you find that all your answers match these, then the your apostrophe-using skills are satisfactory.  Congratulations!

What if my answers are incorrect?
If you find that some of your answers don't match these, congratulations—you are about to learn from your mistakes.  Your computer's spellchecker should catch most of the errors with contractions.  But if you are not sure remember this rule of thumb: Most colleges papers are considered formal writing, yet contractions are considered informal writing; therefore, don't use contractions in your college papers.  As for using apostrophes to signify possessive nouns, WATCH OUT for nouns that end in S.  Maybe it's a simple plural noun; maybe it's a possessive noun.  If you're not sure, run through the "tests" on the previous web page.  And if you're still not sure, ask someone who's really skilled with apostrophes to help you.

Answers to Exercise on Combining Sentences with Contractions, p. 343

1. It’s too cold to go swimming this morning, so I’ll stay home and read a book.
2. I left a message for Sam this morning, but he hasn’t returned my call.
3. We’re lost here on a road that doesn’t go anywhere.
4. We hope you don’t mind that we’ll be joining you in St. Louis.
5. There’s the podiatrist, the man who’s engaged to my sister.
6. She’s quitting her job, but she didn’t say why.
7. It’s not fair that you’re going to Hawaii while I’m stuck home.
8. I’d like to help you because you’re a close friend, but I’m too busy right now.

1. Our neighbors’ dog chews gum and drinks rum.
2. My grandfather lives in the children’s playhouse in the back yard.
3. Sarah’s younger sister, a lumberjack, lives in the Yukon.
4. Do you remember which team won last year’s World Series?
5. Harry’s old Volkswagen bus was stolen last night and abandoned in a junkyard.
6. I read in this morning’s newspaper that tonight’s concert has been canceled.
7. Sally’s pick-up truck crushed Oliver’s motorcycle.
8. Raccoons frequently visit the Johnsons’ vegetable garden to enjoy a midnight snack.

            No one’s ability to remember names is perfect.  Yet this important skill gives you the advantage in business and personal relations.  “A person’s own name is the sweetest and most important sound,” Dale Carnegie wrote in How to Win Friends and Influence People.  It’s often the ticket to a friendship, a closed deal, or a new partnership, and it generates good will in a way no other courtesy can.  Forgetting someone’s name, on the other hand can cause hurt feelings and make you feel socially inept and uncomfortable.    Even worse, it can create a powerfully negative impression that works against you long afterward.
            When you find yourself wrestling with a forgotten name ten seconds after an introduction, it’s because you were inattentive.  This happens primarily because we often are preoccupied with ourselves.  When you’re meeting someone new, clear your thoughts of outside concerns.  If your mind wanders during an introduction, ask that the name be repeated.  At large gatherings, decide in advance to whom you’re going to pay attention.  (You’ll never remember more than a few names from any group.)  If you say to yourself, “I’m going to be very conscious of my boss’s wife’s name,” you’ll retain it.
            The best way to retain new names is by “association-exaggeration,” or forging connections between like and unlike things.  Here’s how: after you’ve been told a person’s name, focus on his face.  Is there something particularly interesting or attractive about it?  Is the hair bright red?  Are the eyebrows heavy?  Are the eyes striking?   Select just one feature and commit it to memory by exaggerating or animating it.  If the person has red hair, set it on fire in your mind’s eye.  If the eyebrows are bushy, see them wriggling like worms.
            Once you’ve memorized a particular feature, transform the person’s name into an unforgettable image through some rudimentary and even amusing connections.  Say you’ve just met Fred Smith.  If you envision Fred Astaire in a blacksmith’s outfit, you’d have to work hard to get Fred Smith out of your mind.  After you’ve found a dramatic image for a name, place it over the distinct feature of the person’s face.  For example, upon meeting Dennis, you might associate his name with “tennis.”  You can then substitute a racquet for his long face.  Don’t be put off by bizarre concepts that come to mind; strange and ridiculous images are memorable ones.
            Training yourself to remember names may take a lot of practice.  But once you’ve mastered the art, you can be sure that people will remember you.