{"id":1234,"date":"2020-09-22T10:00:02","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T09:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.englishforums.com\/blog\/?p=1234"},"modified":"2020-09-22T10:00:02","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T09:00:02","slug":"apostrophe-what-do-you-know-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/apostrophe-what-do-you-know-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Apostrophe: What Do You Know About It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apostrophes are symbols that can be used in multiple punctuation scenarios. They can be used to form possessives, contractions<\/strong>, and even make something plural. <\/strong>Let’s look at examples of each usage type.<\/p>\n

What are the 3 uses of the apostrophe?<\/h2>\n

Contractions and omissions<\/h3>\n

In English, a contraction<\/strong> is generally the shortened form of a word or even a group of words. The apostrophe is used to omit certain characters or sounds in a word. The apostrophe is meant to represent missing letters. Contractions are omissions are made form auxiliaries, verbs, or modals that come with other words. Good examples are;<\/p>\n

    \n
  • I have to I’ve<\/em><\/li>\n
  • He would to He’d<\/em><\/li>\n
  • They are to They’re<\/em><\/li>\n
  • She cannot to She can’t<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Sometimes, writers, in special circumstances such as when writing poems may sometimes use less common contractions. For instance, e’er might be used in place of ever. Writers may also use these less common contractions to represent a particular way of speech that is dependent on how they pronounce certain words. You may see a word like doin’ instead of doing or y’all rather than you all. Dialects from the American South often pronounce this way.
    \nContractions should be used when writing something casual or informal. Try to avoid when writing something formal with the exception of a few words like o’clock. The most commonly utilized contractions in informal writing include the following;<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Don’t<\/em> (do not), isn\u2019t<\/em> (is not), hasn\u2019t<\/em> (has not), they\u2019re<\/em> (they are), we\u2019re<\/em> (we are), you\u2019re<\/em> (you are), She\u2019d<\/em> (she had, she would), I\u2019d<\/em> (I had, I would) We\u2019ll<\/em> (we will), you\u2019ll<\/em> (you will), He\u2019s<\/em> (he is), it\u2019s<\/em> (it is), I\u2019m<\/em> (I am), and let\u2019s<\/em> (let us).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Possessive nouns<\/h3>\n

      When it comes to using the apostrophe in possessive nouns, following the rules is probably the biggest challenge. The confusion may arise since they wat the apostrophe is used vary depending on the type of noun you are making possessive. Remember the positioning of the apostrophe depends on whether the noun is singular or plural. Here are a few examples of both scenarios;
      \nWhen it comes to singular nouns, add\u00a0the apostrophe before the (s)<\/p>\n

        \n
      • The\u00a0cat\u2019s\u00a0<\/strong>toy, the\u00a0teacher\u2019s\u00a0desk, or the\u00a0cow\u2019s\u00a0milk<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        When to use an apostrophe after ‘s’?<\/h4>\n

        When it comes to plural nouns, add the\u00a0apostrophe after the (s)<\/p>\n

          \n
        • The\u00a0cats\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>toys (multiple cats), the teachers\u2019 desks (multiple teachers), or the cows\u2019 milk (multiple cows)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          When we have plural nouns that do not end with an (s), add\u00a0the apostrophe before the (s)<\/p>\n

            \n
          • The\u00a0men\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0shoes or the\u00a0sheep\u2019s\u00a0wool<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Is it Chris’s or Chris’?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

            This is otherwise called the s apostrophe rule<\/strong>. When it comes to singular nouns that end with (s), you can only add the apostrophe at the end or add an apostrophe and the letter (s) at the end depending on the style you want to work with. See an example of either.<\/p>\n

              \n
            • James\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0luggage got lost at\u00a0Kansas\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>main airport.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Others say to add\u00a0apostrophe+s:<\/p>\n

                \n
              • James’s<\/strong> luggage got lost at\u00a0Kansas\u2019s<\/strong> main airport.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Remember to only add the apostrophe to\u00a0plural<\/em>\u00a0proper nouns that end in (s). Neither style is incorrect.<\/p>\n

                Possessive pronouns<\/h4>\n

                In most cases, personal pronouns, unlike proper nouns, do\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0make use of apostrophes to form possessives. Certain possessive pronouns such as theirs, hers, yours,<\/em> and whose<\/em> have led some trouble and confusion. You should know that none of these pronouns require you to add an apostrophe. The table below shows pronouns in there possessive and absolute independent forms:
                \n\"use<\/p>\n

                When to use an apostrophe in the last name<\/h4>\n

                When talking about general things that belong to two or more people, the final name is the only word to make possessive by adding an apostrophe. This is known as the last name apostrophe rules. E.g<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • Jane and\u00a0Joe\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0car and house<\/em> (Jane and Joe co-own the same car and house)<\/li>\n
                • Susan, Peter, and\u00a0Karen\u2019s\u00a0first dog<\/em> (To indicate all three share and posses the same first pet dog)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  However, if separate things all belong to different people, you should make all the names possessive by making use of the apostrophe at the end or before adding the letter (s).<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • Jane’s <\/strong>and\u00a0Joe\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0cars and houses<\/em> (Jane owners a car and house and Joe own a different car and house)<\/li>\n
                  • Susan’s, Peter’s, and\u00a0Karen\u2019s\u00a0first dogs<\/em> (Each person posses their own different first pet dog)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    Forming a plural noun<\/h3>\n

                    A common mistake is done when writing is the unnecessary addition of the apostrophe to form the plural of a noun. Apostrophes do not make nouns plural with one notable exception when writing plural of lowercase letters such as;<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • Make sure to circle all the as<\/strong> in the paragraph as punishment (Not correct and may give a wrong meaning).<\/li>\n
                    • Make sure to circle all the a’s<\/strong> in the paragraph as punishment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      Where does the apostrophe go?<\/h2>\n

                      As part of the word it belongs to, apostrophes should never be separated from the word by commas, full stops, or any other punctuation marks.
                      \nAn apostrophe is part of the word it belongs to, so it should not be separated from the word by periods, commas, question marks, or any other punctuation mark.<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • Can I get you\u00a0somethin\u2019<\/strong>?<\/em><\/li>\n
                      • \u201c\u2019Twas<\/strong>\u00a0the night after the hot, summer day<\/em>,\u201d Karen said.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                        An apostrophe is not so tough to know. Let the English Forward team show you quick concepts and applications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_generate-full-width-content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[292],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}