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The apostrophe (' or ’) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for three basic purposes: The marking of the omission of one or more letters, e.g. the contraction of "do not" to "don't"
- Apostrophe Use: Contractions and Omissions
- Apostrophes and Possessive Nouns
- Apostrophes and Possessive Pronouns
- Apostrophes and Joint Possession
- Apostrophes and Plurals
- Apostrophes with Surrounding Punctuation
- When to Check A Style Guide
A contraction is a shortened form of a word or group of words that omits certain letters or sounds. In a contraction, an apostrophe represents missing letters. The most common contractions are made up ofverbs,auxiliaries, ormodalsattached to other words: “He would” = “He’d.” “I have” = “I’ve.” “They are” = “They’re.” “You cannot” = “You can’t.” Som...
The rules about formingpossessive nounsprobably cause the most apostrophe confusion. They vary a bit, depending on what type of noun you are making into a possessive. Here are the rules of thumb: For most singular nouns, add -’s: For most plural nouns, add only an apostrophe: For plural nouns that do not end in s, add -’s: Style guidesvary in their...
Personal pronouns, unlike regular nouns, do notuse apostrophes to form possessives. Most writers don’t have trouble with thepossessive pronouns my,mine,his,her, and our. It’s your,yours,hers,its,ours,their, and theirsthat tend to cause the confusion. The relative possessive pronoun whoseis also frequently the victim of apostrophe abuse. Note that n...
What do you do with the apostrophe when you’re talking about things that belong to more than one person? When one thing belongs to two or more people jointly, make only the final name possessive: When you’re talking about separate things that belong to different people but you’re discussing the things together, make all the names possessive: Using ...
Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. Sometimes, it’s called the grocer’s apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements (3 orange’s for $1!). Don’t do it! With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make nouns plural. The one notable exception to this rule is the...
An apostrophe is part of the word it belongs to, so it should not be separated from that word by a period, a comma, a question mark, or any other punctuation mark. In the second example, take note of the apostrophe at the beginning of ’twas. Apostrophes that fall at the beginning of a contraction are often mistyped as left-hand single quotation mar...
Sooner or later, you’ll come across a phrase that sounds fine out loud but looks weird on paper because of apostrophes. Do’s and don’ts? Dos and don’ts? Do’s and don’t’s? For cases like these, it’s best to check a comprehensive style guide, such as The Chicago Manual of Styleor the The Associated Press Stylebook(it’s do’s and don’ts, according to A...
Learn how to use an apostrophe to show contraction, possession, duration and time in English. Avoid common errors and see examples of apostrophe usage.
Learn the two meanings of apostrophe: a punctuation mark and a rhetorical device. See examples, word history, related articles, and more from Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Learn how to use apostrophes to show possession, plural, and contraction with singular and plural nouns, common and proper names, and compound nouns. See examples, tips, and common mistakes to avoid.
Learn how to use the apostrophe ( ’ ) for contractions, plurals, and possessives. Find out the general rule, the exceptions, and the common errors to avoid.
Learn how to use the apostrophe in three different ways: contractions, possession, and omission. Watch a video with examples, questions, and tips from KA's resident grammarians.
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