The apostrophe has three uses: 1) to form possessive nouns; 2) to show the omission of letters; and 3) to indicate plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols. Do not use apostrophes to form possessive pronouns (i.e. his/her computer) or noun plurals that are not possessives.
Use an apostrophe before the s to indicate ownership
When one person owns something, we use an apostrophe and then an s. This is the most common way that apostrophes will be used, and the easiest rule to remember. If you own it, put an apostrophe on it.
RULE 3: Punctuation and Possessives
When indexing personal and business names, ignore commas, periods, hyphens, slashes, and apostrophes, and close up the letters and words. For example, index Mid-City Lanes as MIDCITY LANES—all caps with no punctuation.
The independent possessive pronouns are mine, ours, yours, his, hers, its, and theirs. The possessive adjectives, also called possessive determiners, are my, our, your, his, her, its, and their. We break down each type and offer examples of their usage below. Here's a tip: Want to make sure your writing shines?
The English possessive pronouns are mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs, and whose.
One common mistake made by both native and non-native speakers of English is the use of an apostrophe to indicate the plural of a noun, such as 'three banana's for $1' instead of the correct 'three bananas for $1'.
The Associated Press Stylebook says the correct way to write the possessive case of Chris is Chris', not Chris's. Other style guides, including the Chicago Manual of Style, say Chris's is correct. If there isn't a specific guidebook you need to follow, you can use either Chris' or Chris's.
Do not use an apostrophe in the possessive pronouns whose, ours, yours, his, hers, its, or theirs. Do not use an apostrophe in nouns that are plural but not possessive, such as CDs, 1000s, or 1960s. Do not use an apostrophe in verbs.
An apostrophe is a small punctuation mark ( ' ) placed after a noun to show that the noun owns something. The apostrophe will always be placed either before or after an s at the end of the noun owner. Always the noun owner will be followed (usually immediately) by the thing it owns. 2.
The purpose of an apostrophe in literature is to direct the reader's attention to something other than the person who's speaking. Apostrophes frequently target an absent person or a third party. Other times, they focus on an inanimate object, a place, or even an abstract idea. They'll often begin with an exclamation.
It is never, ever appropriate to put an apostrophe + s with a possessive pronoun. You should never see your's, her's, their's, etc. Incorrect: What's your's is mine, and what's mine is your's. Correct: What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours.
To show the omission of one or more letters in a contraction. To show ownership or possession.
Answer and Explanation: The two types of apostrophes are apostrophes of possession and contraction. Possessive apostrophes indicate ownership of something, like in the following sentence: "Amelie's house is at the end of the lane." Contraction apostrophes are used to shorten words.
The possessive
Quick Use: Use an apostrophe + s for singular nouns (sea, sky), common nouns ending with s (tigress, mistress), and irregular plural nouns (women, children). Use only the apostrophe for proper nouns ending with s (Tess, Jesus, Texas) and regular plural nouns (cars, protestors).
Here are a couple examples: Alexis's new car is blue. According to the Chicago Manual of Style (which folks in my profession refer to as the Bible of Book Publishing), the rule is the same as any other singular possessive. You write her name with possession just like you say it: Alexis's.
Rule: To form the plural of a last name that ends with an s, add an es. To form the possessive of the plural, add an apostrophe. The Dennises are a nice family.
Misuse of the Apostrophe
Apostrophes may indicate possession or mark omitted letters in contractions. Writers often misuse apostrophes when forming plurals and possessives. The basic rule is quite simple: use the apostrophe to indicate possession, not a plural.
In a famous scene from the play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet delivers a soliloquy on her balcony, which begins with the following line: "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" Juliet believes she is alone and addresses Romeo, thinking that he is absent. Therefore, this is considered to be an example of an apostrophe.
But the biggest problem with the apostrophe, he says, is that in its possessive usage, it makes a singular noun sound "exactly the same as the plural – and because there's no difference when you speak it, you have to have the understanding of its purpose in order to get it right when you write it."
The most complicated possessive pronoun is “its”. Its and it's do not serve the same grammatical function. It's is a contraction for “it is” and its is the possessive pronoun that signifies “belonging to it”.
Possessive adjectives are my, your, his, her, its, our, their.