Lesson 4: Apostrophes

Definition

To form the possessive case of a singular noun, add an apostrophe and an s.

Explanation

When one person, place, or thing owns something, you show it by adding an 's. This little apostrophe and s tells your reader that the noun possesses, or owns, the item that comes next. Think of it as a sign that says, “This belongs to me!”

Examples

• The student's project was displayed in the hall. [The project belongs to the student. To make student possessive, an apostrophe and an s are added.]
• My teacher's desk is always very organized. [The desk belongs to one teacher. Add an apostrophe and an s.]

Definition

To form the possessive case of a plural noun ending in s, add only the apostrophe. If the plural noun doesn’t end in s, add an apostrophe and an s.

Explanation

When showing ownership for a group, first check how the plural word ends. If the plural noun already ends with an s (like dogs or friends), you just add an apostrophe after it. If it’s an irregular plural that doesn't end in s (like mice or women), you treat it like a singular noun and add 's.

Examples

• Plural Nouns Ending in s:
  • The players’ uniforms were all clean for the big game. [The uniforms belong to more than one player. Players ends in s, so the apostrophe is added after the s.]
• Plural Nouns Not Ending in s:
  • We studied the geese's migration pattern in science class. [The migration pattern belongs to more than one goose. Geese does not end in s, so an apostrophe and an s are added.]

Definition

Do not use an apostrophe with possessive personal pronouns.

Explanation

Possessive personal pronouns like his, hers, its, ours, yours, and theirs are special. They already show ownership all by themselves, so they never need an apostrophe. A super common mix-up is its and it's. Remember, its shows ownership (The dog wagged its tail), while it's is a contraction for it is ( It's a sunny day).

Examples

• That drawing is mine, and the other one is yours. [The possessive pronouns mine and yours are used to show ownership. They do not have apostrophes.]
• The house on the corner is theirs. [The pronoun theirs shows the house belongs to them. No apostrophe needed!]
• The bird built its nest in our tree. [The nest belongs to the bird. Its is a possessive pronoun.]

Definition

To form the possessive case of some indefinite pronouns, add an apostrophe and an s.

Explanation

Indefinite pronouns, like somebody, anyone, or everyone, don't point to a specific person. When you want to show that one of these general people owns something, you treat it just like a singular noun. Simply add an 's to the end of the word to make it possessive.

Examples

• Everybody's name was called during the assembly. [The possessive form of everybody is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s.]
• No one's phone was ringing during the movie. [The possessive form of No one is No one's.]
• They returned each other's books after class. [The possessive form of each other is each other's.]

Definition

To form a contraction, use an apostrophe to show where letters or numerals have been omitted.

Explanation

A contraction is like a shortcut for words. It combines two words into one, and the apostrophe steps in to take the place of the missing letters or numbers. Using contractions like can't (can not) or he's (he is) makes your writing sound more natural and friendly, just like how you talk.

Examples

• we + are = we're [The apostrophe in we're replaces the letter a in are.]
• who + is = who's [The apostrophe in who's replaces the letter i in is.]
• would + not = wouldn't [The apostrophe in wouldn't replaces the letter o in not.]
• 2008 = '08 [The apostrophe in '08 shows that the numerals 20 have been omitted.]