Extract:
What punctuation is needed in the following sentence to make it correct?
In addition to the hospitals regularly scheduled festivities, the custodians celebrate with a party of their own.
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A
Period
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B
Comma
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C
Apostrophe
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D
Semicolon
An apostrophe is needed to form the possessive "hospital's" modifying "regularly scheduled festivities."
A) Period
A period would terminate the sentence prematurely before completion. Terminal punctuation is required at the true end, but internal correction demands apostrophe first.
B) Comma
A comma is already correctly placed after the introductory phrase. Adding another comma wouldn't correct the missing possessive marker.
C) Apostrophe
Apostrophe correctly forms the singular possessive "hospital's" showing the festivities belong to the hospital. Without apostrophe+s, "hospitals" reads as plural noun incorrectly modifying "festivities."
D) Semicolon
Semicolons connect independent clauses—not form possessives. No clause separation issue exists requiring semicolon punctuation.
Conclusion
Singular nouns showing possession require apostrophe+s ('s). "Hospitals regularly scheduled festivities" incorrectly uses plural noun form; "hospital's regularly scheduled festivities" correctly shows singular possession with apostrophe—making this the essential punctuation correction.