Apostrophe use can seem daunting at first. There is no reason to worry. If you follow a set of rules, it is easy to know when to use the apostrophe. There are also some common errors that are continually made when the apostrophe is used. If you are aware of these, you will master apostrophe use in no time. This will give you the confidence to write those important office reports or to send those personal emails.
Basic Apostrophe Use
- Possession. When there is an ownership relationship between two words, the apostrophe designates this relationship (Wright, 2008). For example, 'Patrick’s dog was running on the beach'. This signals that Patrick owns the dog.
- The difference between singular and plural possessive apostrophes is another important consideration in knowing when to use the apostrophe (Wright, 2008). If one person owns the dog, then the apostrophe is before the 's'. If more than one person owns the dog, the apostrophe is placed after the 's'. For example, 'Patrick’s dog' is the singular form of the possessive apostrophe, but the 'kids’ dog' is the plural form of the possessive apostrophe.
- Apostrophes that act as abbreviations or replace letters (Wright, 2008). For example, the abbreviation for 'do not' is 'don’t'. In this case, the 'o' is replaced with the apostrophe.
Some other examples include: isn’t – is not; I’m – I am; aren’t – are not; they’re – they are; and, you’re – you are.
When the singular possessive ends with an 's', it looks like the apostrophe has been put in the wrong place. This is not the case as the second 's' is dropped from the word (Conklin, 2009). For example, 'The Smiths’ house is large'. This refers to the house belonging to more than one Smith and because the word ends with 's', the last 's' is dropped. As such, 'Smiths’s' is correct but the 's' gets dropped.
Apostrophe Use and Frequent Errors
One common error in knowing when to use the apostrophe is that they are used for plurals (Deakin University, 2009). For example, you might find them incorrectly used in the word ‘books’ in a sentence, such as 'There were many books in her bag'. It might be incorrectly written as 'book’s'. Used in this instance, it would indicate possession when it is simply a plural.
Another frequent error in apostrophe use is in year dates (Deakin University, 2009). It should not be written 1990’s but rather 1990s. 'Your' and 'you’re' also cause confusion when it comes to the use of apostrophes. 'You’re' is short for 'you are', while 'your' is belonging or connected with you.
Apostrophe use can be learnt quite easily. You just need to be aware of the basic rules and the common errors that frequently occur in knowing when to use the apostrophe. The tutorials available in How to Write Well includes a helpful section on apostrophes.
References
Conklin, B 2009, Using Apostrophes, Suffolk County Community College, Ammerman Campus, viewed 9 July, 2009.
Deakin University 2009, Apostrophes, viewed 9 July, 2009.
Wright, I 2008, Apostrophes, Bloody Apostrophes, University of Ballarat, viewed 9 July, 2009.