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The Misunderstood Apostrophe

KATHLEEN SEARS

There is probably no more misused mark of punctuation than the apostrophe. This tricky little punctuation mark creates more incorrect grammar than any other. Unlike any other marks of punctuation, apostrophes are often overused by many people.  
 
Because people are confused about the purpose of apostrophes, they end up using them in all sorts of creative ways. You can walk into almost any store and see signs like the following: 
  • Special price’s this week! 
  • Five can’s for $4! 
  • Apple’s on sale! 
 
None of the words that have an apostrophe needs one. Each is a simple plural, and you almost never need to use an apostrophe to denote a plural. There are three basic situations in which an apostrophe would be the correct choice: 
  1. Contractions 
  2. Possession 
  3. Forming a plural (rare) 
 
That’s it. Funny how often this mark is used when it really only has a limited number of circumstances that truly need it.  
 
Contractions 
An apostrophe often indicates a contraction. For example, the contraction don’t stands for do not and I’ll is a short form of I will. Additionally, sometimes authors will use apostrophes in contractions to help readers understand dialect. For instance, “Alice is goin’ swimmin’ today.”  
 
Possession 
If a singular noun doesn’t end in -s, its possessive ends in -’s. 
  • Jim’s brother is coming with us. 
  • The car’s engine was still running. 
 
When you have plural nouns that end in -s, add an apostrophe after the final -s.  
  • The girls’ coats were found at the bus station. 
 
Although most English plurals end in -s or -es, our language has a number of exceptions, such as children, women, and deer. If a plural doesn’t end in -s, the possessive is formed with an -’s (as if it were singular). 
  • The children’s coats were covered with mud. 
 
So far, so good? You have just one tricky part left to consider. It concerns singular words that end in -s. Two ways of punctuating these words are common. If a singular word ends in -s, form its possessive by adding -’s (except when pronunciation would be difficult, such as Moses or Achilles).  
  • Julie Jones’s information was invaluable in locating the missing girls. 
 
However, some people use another rule: If a singular word ends in -s, form its possessive by adding an apostrophe after the -s.  
  • Julie Jones’ information was invaluable in locating the missing girls. 
 
Most style guides will endorse one or the other of these guidelines. 
 
One of the most common mistakes with apostrophes comes with possessive pronouns (its, yours, his, hers, theirs, ours, whose). Remember that the only one of these words that ever takes an apostrophe is its, and that happens only when the word means it is. 
 
Forming Plurals 
Regular plurals don’t need apostrophes. However, if you’re using an expression that involves individual letters or combinations of letters, use apostrophes to show their plurals. 
  • Dot your i’s and cross your t’s. 
 
Another time that you should use an apostrophe to form a plural is if your reader would be confused by reading an -s added to an individual letter or letter combination or to numbers. 
  • s’s (instead of ss) 
  • Write 7’s (instead of 7s) in the graph. 
 
Capital letters used as words, however, just take an -s without an apostrophe for their plural form. 
  • Susie was happy she received all As on her report card. 

 

Grammar 101

From Split Infinitives to Dangling Participles, an Essential Guide to Understanding Grammar

By Kathleen Sears

Learn the rules of the English language with this easy and engaging style guide.

Grammar is complicated. But many textbooks and style guides are often so long and tedious that even English teachers use them as a classroom doorstop.

Grammar 101 is a fun, comprehensive guide focusing on the essentials of grammar. With simple explanations and entertaining examples, you can learn everything you need to know to employ commas, semicolons, and em dashes with confidence. You’ll even be prepared to wrangle your run-on sentences and sharpen your syntax with ease.

So whether you’re looking for an introduction to the rules of grammar or a refresher to keep on your desk, Grammar 101 has all the answers.

Learn More