[Apostrophes] 1

Motlow State Community College Writing Center Handouts

[Apostrophes] And How to Use Them

Apostrophes can be really tricky to use! From possessive, to plural, to contraction, to plural possessive, it can be difficult to even remember all of the different types, let alone the proper ways to use them. Never fear; we are here to help! Once you get the hang of them, apostrophes are easy to use, and the proper use of them can take your writing to another level.

[Possessive]

If you are talking about something that belongs to someone…

Add an apostrophe and an ‘s’ to the owner to show that the object belongs to the thing or person.

Example: Steven’s backpack sat on the table.

Note: To form the possessive case of singular nouns that end in –s, add –’s in most cases.

Example: Reading Henry James’s The Ambassadors was not Maris’s idea of fun.

If you are talking about many things that belong to someone…

Add an apostrophe and an ‘s’ to the owner, and an ‘s’ to the thing.

Example: Anne’s notebooks were left behind.

Definitions:

[Possessive]

A word that shows something belongs to something or someone else

[Plural]

Many things or people

[Plural Possessive]

A word that shows many things belong to something or someone

[Contraction]

Combining two words or more words to create a shorter word

Contractions College essays and papers are typically written in formal tone. This means that first person pronouns (I, you, we, us) and contractions are not allowed. If your apostrophe is in a contraction, break the contraction into two words and remove the apostrophe! For example, instead of writing the word don’t, you should write the words do not instead.

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If you are using a pronoun…

When using ‘hers’, ‘his’, ‘theirs’, or similar pronouns as object pronouns, apostrophes are not needed.

Example: That backpack is his, that notebook is hers, and that study room is theirs.

When creating a contraction with a pronoun, add an apostrophe and an ‘s’. However, contractions cannot be used in formal writing. (See sidebar for more information.)

Example: She’s really good at getting good grades.

[Plural]

If you are talking about many things…

Use an ‘s’ on the end of the plural thing.

Example: The backpacks were in the corner.

Note: When making a word plural, do not add an apostrophe and an ‘s’. The exception to this is when you are making a single lowercase letter plural. For more information about this, look at the section about pluralizing lowercase letters.

If you are making letters, numbers, or symbols plural…

• Lowercase letters: write an apostrophe and an ‘s’ after the letter. o Example: Mind your p’s and q’s!

• Uppercase letters: put an ‘s’ after the letter. o Example: There were fourteen Bs in the class.

• Numerals: put an ‘s’ after the number. o Example: On average, the students made 85s on their papers.

• Symbols: put an ‘s’ after the symbol. o Example: It is difficult to write the @s in email addresses.

Important To Remember When you type an apostrophe, make sure that it is actually an apostrophe and not a single quotation mark.

Purposes of Apostrophes The apostrophe may be only a small mark of punctuation, but it carries a lot of responsibility.

Apostrophes represent the century in a year in informal writing.

Examples:

• Crash of ’29 • Class of ’10 • ’57 Chevy

Apostrophes also signal omissions in common phrases.

• ten of the clock = ten o’clock

• rock and roll = rock ‘n’ roll

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If you are using a compound noun…

• A compound noun is a noun that is made up of more than one word. For example, full moon or bus stop. When making these nouns plural, add an ‘s’ to the end of the last word in the noun.

• Example: Both her daughter-in-laws’ birthdays fall in July.

[Plural Possessive]

If you are talking about many things that belong to many people…

Use an apostrophe and an ‘s’ on each of the owners’ names, and an ‘s’ on the thing.

Example: Steven’s and Anne’s notebooks were left behind.

Note: To form the possessive of regular plural nouns (those that end in –s and –es), add an apostrophe.

Example: The Lopezes’ three children are triplets.

If you are talking about one thing that belongs to many people…

Use an apostrophe and an ‘s’ on the last of the owners’ names.

Example: Steven and Anne’s study room was upstairs.

Distinguishing its and it’s

its it’s

Possessive form of it Contraction for it is or it has

Example: The disease is unusual; its symptoms vary from person to person.

Example: It’s a difficult disease to diagnose.

[APOSTROPHES] | Created by Emily Yardumian and Carolyn Poole, Spring 2017