Millions of words are written on the topic of the apostrophe. Unlike my father, I won't be carrying a felt-tip pen so that I can fix the errant ones in supermarkets. He had way too much time on his hands. But I sympathize. The apostrophe is a small, insignificant-looking wiggle that actually signifies much, and therefore, it is important to whack it in the right place when you are writing. You will notice, for instance, that the name of this website is:
thewritersresource.com.au - NO APOSTROPHE. Websites don't allow it.
But the headline is The Writers' Resource. Because we hope to reach more than one writer.
And, on the other hand, this section is The Writer's Resource. Because we like to think that you, the individual, will feel at home here.
Does that make sense?
Here are the rules.
he apostrophe has three uses:
1) to form possessives of nouns.
2) to show the omission of letters
3) to indicate certain plurals of lower case letters. (RARE and not very nice!)
Apostrophes are NOT used for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals, including acronyms.
Forming possessives of nouns
The test for whether you need to make a possessive is to turn the phrase backwards and make it into an "of the..." phrase.
Eg.
the girl's computer = the computer of the girl
seven days' travelling = travelling for 7 days
Note that of the noun after "of" is a building, an object, or a piece of furniture, then no apostrophe is needed so you have to keep that thinking cap on. It is more descriptive than 'owned'.
room of the hotel = hotel room
door of the fowl house = fowl house door
leg of the chair = chair leg
Once you've decided whether you need to form a possessive, follow the rules below to create one.
• add 's to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in -s): the driver's car Jess's hat
• add 's to the plural forms that do not end in -s:
the children's game the egret's feather
• add ' to the end of plural nouns that end in -s:
houses' roofs four pals' backapacks
• add 's to the end of compound words:
my mother-in-law's hair remover
• add 's to the last noun to show joint possession of an object:
Jennifer and Keith's RV
Showing that a letter has been omitted
Apostrophes are used as part of a contraction - a word (or set of numbers) in which one or more letters (or numbers) are omitted. The apostrophe denotes this omission. Contractions are common in speaking and in informal writing. To use an apostrophe to create a contraction, place an apostrophe where the omitted letter(s) are supposed go.
Eg.:
shouldn't = should not
didn't = did not
could've= could have (NOT "could of"!)
'90 = 1990
don't = do not
I'm = I am
he'll = he will
who's = who is
Forming plurals of lowercase letters in the USA
Apostrophes are used to form plurals of letters that appear in lowercase; here the rule appears to be more typographical than grammatical, e.g. "three ps" versus "three p's." To form the plural of a lowercase letter, place you may 's after the letter. There is no need for apostrophes indicating a plural on capitalized letters, numbers, and symbols (though keep in mind that some editors, teachers, and professors still prefer them). In Australia, this is not done. According to our Govt. style Guide there should be no apostrophe in this case, but if you are eading this from any nation using American English, the rule for you is in green.
Eg: Here is the American version.
p's and q's = a phrase indicating politeness, possibly from "mind your pleases and thankyous"?
Jane's mother constantly stressed minding one's p's and q's.
three Macintosh G4s = three of the Macintosh model G4
There are two G4s currently used in the writing classrom.
many &s = many ampersands
That printed page has too many &s on it.
the 1960s = the years in decade from 1960 to 1969
The 1960s were a time of great social unrest.
Don't use apostrophes for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals.
Apostrophes should not be used with possessive pronouns because possessive pronouns already show possession -- they don't need an apostrophe. His, her, its, my, yours, ours are all possessive pronouns.
Eg.:
wrong: his' underpants
correct: his underpants
wrong: The team made it's play.
correct: The team made its play.
(Note: Its and it's are not the same thing. It's is a contraction for "it is" and its is a possessive pronoun meaning "belonging to it." It's snowing in Alaska = It is snowing in Alaska. A simple way to remember this rule is the fact that you don't use an apostrophe for the possessives his or hers, so don't do it with its EVER!)
wrong: a relative of yours'
correct: a relative of yours
wrong: He waited for seven hours' to get her medical report.
correct: He waited for seven hours to get her medical report.
Proof-reading for apostrophes
A good time to proofread is when you have finished writing the paper. Try the following strategies to proofread for apostrophes: If you tend to leave out apostrophes, check every word that ends in -s or -es to see if it needs an apostrophe. If you put in too many apostrophes, check every apostrophe to see if you can justify it with a rule for using apostrophes. As with all proofing, reading it aloud to someone (even the family dog) is better than scanning it.
