Steps 1 to 5 are our most basic and important rules of possessive apostrophes. The apostrophe goes before the s if it’s one person who is the owner or member of something; and the apostrophe goes after the s if it’s multiple people who are the owners or members of something. Easy, right!? 6.
Full Answer
Don't add an apostrophe to a word just because the word ends with the letter "s." This is a common mistake, and it is a grammatical howler. (In other words, your readers will think you're a bit dim if you keep doing it.)
An apostrophe can be used to replace a letter or letters (e.g., "isn't," "can't"). The new word formed is called a contraction. Contractions are not usually used in formal correspondence. When I was born I was so surprised I didn't talk for a year and a half.
The first thing to say about this topic is that apostrophes are not normally used to show plurals, and lots of your readers will hate it if you use an apostrophe for this purpose. However, that said, there are times when it helps to use an apostrophe to show a plural. For example: There are two i's in skiing.
Written by the founder of Grammar Monster, "Smashing Grammar" includes a comprehensive A-Z glossary of essential grammar terms, a detailed punctuation section, and a chapter on easily confused words. Each entry kicks off with a simple explanation and some basic examples before giving real-life, entertaining examples.
The 100% Rule: Everything to the left of the apostrophe is the possessor. Write the word as you'd say it (e.g., "dogs kennel"), and then apply this rule. You get dog's for one dog, and dogs' for more than one. This rule works for everything, even the exceptions.
Apostrophe Basics. Apostrophes are punctuation marks used to indicate possession. The placement of an apostrophe depends upon the word you are making possessive. Singular possessive. Make a singular noun possessive by adding an apostrophe and an "s .". Example: Long's theory (2003) suggested...
Apostrophes are punctuation marks used to indicate possession. The placement of an apostrophe depends upon the word you are making possessive. Singular possessive. Make a singular noun possessive by adding an apostrophe and an "s .". Example: Long's theory (2003) suggested...
Make a singular noun possessive by adding an apostrophe and an "s .". Example: Long's theory (2003) suggested... Note that singular nouns ending in "s" still take an apostrophe and an additional "s" (i.e., Jones's theory). Plural possessive (regular). Make a plural noun possessive by adding an apostrophe.
Apostrophes are used to indicate that something belongs to something or someone else. To indicate possession with a singular noun, add ’s at the end of the word. This also applies to names and other proper nouns. The car’s windscreen is foggy. Rome’s backstreets are charming.
Possessive apostrophes with plural nouns. Most plural nouns already end in s. In this case, to indicate possession, add only an apostrophe to the end of the word. This also applies to words where the singular and the plural take the same form. The flood destroyed the beavers’ dam.
In addition to serving as a marker for possession, apostrophes are also commonly used to indicate omitted characters. For example: can’t (from cannot) it’s (from it has or it is) you’ve (from you have) gov’t (from government) ’70s, (from 1970s) ’bout (from about)
Apostrophes can be used to indicate possessives (for example, “my dad’s recipe.”) Apostrophes can be used to form contractions, where they indicate the omission of characters (for example, “don’t” instead of “do not.”) Apostrophes can also be used to form plurals for abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols in cases where forming a plural in ...
The basic rule is that to indicate possession, add an apostrophe followed by an “s” to the end of the word. The car belonging to the driver = the driver’s car. The sandwich belonging to Lois = Lois’s sandwich. Hats belonging to children = children’s hats.
In sentences where two individuals own one thing jointly, add the possessive apostrophe to the last noun. If, however, two individuals possess two separate things, add the apostrophe to both nouns. For example:
Quotation marks are also used to title short literary works such as poems, short stories, essays, and newspaper and magazine articles . Quotation marks can also be used to show irony or highlight specific words.
Quotation marks indicate words that are spoken by someone who is not the author. Quotation marks are also used to title short literary works such as poems, short stories, essays, and newspaper and magazine articles. Quotation marks can also be used to show irony or highlight specific words.
In most cases, quotations that span multiple paragraphs should be set as block quotations, and thus do not require quotation marks. When quotation marks are used for multiple-paragraph quotations, the convention in English is to give opening quotation marks to the first and each subsequent paragraph, using closing quotation marks only for the final paragraph of the quotation.
We often use apostrophes when we are writing to show lazy or truncated language use . You might recognize this use of the apostrophe when reading the language of Hagrid in Harry Potter:
Use an apostrophe before the s to indicate ownership. Use an apostrophe before the s to indicate membership. Use an apostrophe after the s to indicate collective ownership. Use an apostrophe after the s to indicate collective membership. Use an apostrophe before the s for irregular plural nouns.
Do not use apostrophes to make plurals. The biggest apostrophe make is the use of apostrophes for plurals. Apostrophes do not indicate plurality. One girl makes two girls, not two girl’s. One glass makes two glasses, not two glass’s. No, no, no. Apostrophes do not make plurals.
While the above rules work for when a single person owns something, it doesn’t work when there are many people. For example, if we have own mother who has a baby, the rule of having an apostrophe before the s works:
This means that for some reason our ancestors made unique words to signify ‘many’ of a particular name or object. Here’s some examples:
Even if you're communicating with friends or family, proper use of apostrophes can make written conversations clearer, help you to come across as more professional, and inspire your readers to trust you. This means better grades, job offers, and the respect you deserve.
Now that your home from school, it's time to do you're homework, eat you're dinner, and brush you're teeth, and then you can have you're time. Now that you're home from school, it's time to do your homework, eat your dinner and brush your teeth, and then you can have your TV time.
In the 1990's, CDs rose in popularity among teen's. In the 1990s, CDs rose in popularity among teen's. In the 1990s, CD's rose in popularity among teens. In the 1990s, CDs rose in popularity among teens. Advertisement.