1. Remember that not every “s” needs an apostrophe. Don’t add them to every noun in plural form. Use apostrophes only when the “s” in an object is in a possessive form or shows ownership.
Example: “John’s notebook.”
Personal pronouns, such as “its,” are an exception to this rule.
Example: “The cat cleaned itself with its paws.”
2. Use apostrophes in contractions. Besides words in the possessive form, apostrophes are used in words that form contractions to show missing letters.
Example: “it’s,” but not “its,” for “it is.”
Another way to remember is through the phrase, “It’s an apostrophe.”
3. Apostrophe style. How we use apostrophes is sometimes a matter of style, such as when writing letters or numerals in plural form.
Examples: 1900’s, ABC’s
To avoid confusion or doubt about issues of ownership or possessiveness, however, it can be best to leave them out: 1900s, ABCs
4. Watch for possessive plural nouns. Nouns in the plural form (more than one) can be trickier. You add an apostrophe after the “s.”
Example: The boys’ locker room is closed.
5. Don’t get possessive with pronouns. You don’t need to place apostrophes in these possessive pronouns: hers, his, yours, ours, theirs, its, or whose.
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Quotes
“There was never a golden age in which the rules for the use of the possessive apostrophe in English were clear-cut and known, understood, and followed by most educated people.” ~ Tom McArthur, The Oxford Companion to the English Language
“To those who care about punctuation, a sentence such as ‘Thank God its Friday’ (without the apostrophe) rouses feelings not only of despair but of violence. The confusion of the possessive ‘its’ (no apostrophe) with the contractive ‘it’s’ (with apostrophe) is an unequivocal signal of illiteracy and sets off a Pavlovian ‘kill’ response in the average stickler.” ~ Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
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Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com
