As a proofreader and editor, I'm often asked to explain the rules of grammar. I answered three of the most common questions in the first post of this series, and now it's time to look at another frequent query: how to use apostrophes. Where do they go? When are they needed? And when should they be left out entirely?
Apostrophes might be small but they can cause big confusion because they are used both to indicate posession and to contract words. But the good news is that there are clear, simple patterns to follow, which we'll explore, along with exceptions to watch out for. Whether you’re writing a report or just a text message, these tips will help you use apostrophes correctly and confidently.
Apostrophes show possession: they tell us something belongs to someone or something. When we want to show possession for regular plurals (when a word needs an "s" to make it plural), the apostrophe goes at the end and no further "s" is added:
Whereas, when we want to show posession for either a single noun or an irregular plural (for example, children, geese), we add an "apostrophe s":
Single names that end in an “s” get an “apostrophe s” but plural names get only an apostrophe:
There's one exception that's important to note: "its" and "it's". The posessive form "its" does not have an apostrophe: "it's" always means "it is".
Contracted words are the combined and shortened forms of two words, which are commonly used in everyday writing and speech to sound more natural and conversational. They're made by omitting certain letters and replacing them with an apostrophe: for example, in "don't", it replaces the missing “o” from not.
When you miss one or more letters, use an apostrophe:
A common mistake is using apostrophes when making words plural or when refering to decades and numbers. For example:
Play
Now you know the basic rules of apostrophes, it's time to check your knowledge.
Which sentence is correct?:
It's sentence 3. We want to show posession – break time belongs to the children – and "children" is plural so it gets an "apostrophe s".
Now try these sentences and see if you can figure out which one is right:
The correct answer is 2. "You're" is a contraction of "you are", "it is important" so we use "it's" and we show that the collar belongs to the dog by using "its". Finally:
Here, the right answer is 3. "Luis" is a single name, so gets an "apostrophe s", and "will not" is shortened to "won't".
Hopefully you now feel more confident in using apostrophes in your writing. Look out for the next post in this series, where we’ll explore more common grammar mistakes and how to avoid them.
Read our blog posts "11 fascinating facts about English" and "Grammar 101: insider tips and tricks to instantly improve your writing (part 1)".
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