Summary
The apostrophe is a punctuation mark that denotes possession, contractions, and the plural of certain words.
How do I use them properly?
Apostrophes are used in several and particular ways, which make them confusing. But having these rules in mind will help you understand this tricky piece of punctuation.
1. The possessive
Quick Use: Use an apostrophe + s for singular nouns (sea, sky), common nouns ending with s (tigress, mistress), and irregular plural nouns (women, children).
Use only the apostrophe for proper nouns ending with s (Tess, Jesus, Texas) and regular plural nouns (cars, protestors).
At its simplest, the apostrophe + s shows possession when added to singular nouns or indefinite pronouns (anyone, someone, somebody, etc.).
Michael’s lunch
everyone’s property
The one exception to this is ‘it’, the possessive of which is expressed without the apostrophe and only the s.
The jewel has lost its lustre.
For words that end in s, there are two ways of deciding whether to use an apostrophe + s or just an apostrophe. The first way to make this distinction is between proper nouns and common nouns.
For common nouns, use the apostrophe + s
the dress’s colour
the hostess’s manners
For proper nouns, use only the apostrophe
Moses’ covenant with God
The other way to distinguish between these two is by sound. If you pronounce an extra s sound in forming the possessive, add apostrophe + s
Ross’s dream
the boss’s office
If you do not add an s sound when forming the possessive, use just the apostrophe
for goodness’ sake
Mr. Jones’ cat
But like most grammatical rules, these are not set in stone. You might, for example, say Chris’s new car. Think of these tips on when to use the apostrophe + s or just the apostrophe as guidelines that you should refer to – you do not need to be slavish in following these ‘rules’.
The rules for using the apostrophe in the plural, however, are less fluid, so you should follow these more closely. To form the plural possessive, use just an apostrophe for regular plural nouns (plurals that end in s)
the dogs’ treats
the workers’ salaries
but for irregular nouns (plurals that do not end in s), use apostrophe + s
the businessmen’s vision
the geese’s feet
the people’s palace
2. It and It’s
Quick Use: Recall that 'its' is a possessive and 'it's' is a contraction of 'it is.'
The most common of apostrophe mistakes—the use of its and it’s—deserves its own section. Itsis the possessive form of it, and it’s isthe contraction of the pair of words: ‘it is.’
The snake shed its skin.
It’s a snakeskin, lying on the ground.
It’s typical for a snake to shed its skin to allow further growth and get rid of parasites.
To remember the difference, just think of the apostrophe in it’s as a stand-in for ‘it is’ in a sentence, in the same way that ‘won’t’ is a stand-in for ‘will not,’ or ‘shouldn’t’ is a stand-in for ‘should not.’ If you cannot substitute ‘it is,’ then you don’t use an apostrophe for ‘its.’
3. Contractions
Quick Use: Substitute an apostrophe for missing letters in words
Apostrophes also substitute for letters in contractions:
‘twas (it was)
doesn’t (does not)
she’ll (she will)
can’t (cannot)
it’s (it is, it has)
who’s (who is, who has)
Juliet’s (Juliet is, Juliet has)
While the word ‘it’ is clear on its function as a contraction (it’s, e.g. it’s raining/it’s been a long time) or possessive (its, e.g. its legs), other words are not so clear and so you should depend on the context to give you its meaning:
Juliet’s here/Juliet’s been to New York (contraction: Juliet is here/Juliet has been to New York)
Juliet’s new job (possessive: the new job belongs to Juliet)
4. Plurals of letters, initials, abbreviations, and numbers
Quick Use: Use apostrophe + s for single letters, and just an s for initials and abbreviations (which have more than one letter)> Either apostrophe + s or just an s words for numbers (2s, 3s, or 2's, 3's), but be consistent.
Apostrophes denote the plurals of letters as well. To show the plural of single letters, we usually use apostrophe + s
He made straight A’s
Write your c’s and e’s more legibly
This is necessary because not having an apostrophe could be confusing to a reader. For instance, in a sentence like:
Her cursive a’s and u’s are slightly similar,
not having apostrophes would give us:
Her cursive as and us are slightly similar.
In sentences like this, it is advisable to use the apostrophe + s to make yourself clear, but there are also a good number of people who avoid the apostrophe + s in sentences where it is clear what they referring to:
His report cards were a neat and consistent line of Cs and Ds.
For the plurals of initials and abbreviations, like initials, the apostrophe is superfluous, so adding just an s is generally preferred:
PhDs
ABCs
MDs
But again, ‘generally’ does not mean always, and you might use apostrophe + s for plurals of initials, abbreviations, and numbers:
The 90s or the 90’s
