Apostrophes are a fundamental aspect of language rules and play a critical role in academic writing. These punctuation marks are primarily used to denote possession, create contractions, and distinguish quotations within quotations, thereby enhancing the precision and readability of sentence structures. Mastering the proper use of apostrophes is integral for effective communication, avoiding ambiguity, and adhering to grammatical standards of the English language.
Apostrophes in a nutshell
An apostrophe is a punctuation mark used for two main purposes. First, it shows possession, meaning it indicates that something belongs to someone or something. Second, an apostrophe is used in contractions to combine two words by replacing missing letters. There are distinct rules for including this punctuation mark depending on the type of word, whether the word is in the singular form or plural form, negative form, or what kind of conjugation a word follows. In contractions, apostrophes replace missing letters.
Definition: Apostrophes
The apostrophe is a punctuation mark used primarily to denote the possessive form of a word or to replace omitted letters. In terms of appearance, there are two different types of apostrophe typefaces, smart (’) or straight (′), but their function is the same. Smart apostrophes are usually the default on keyboards and are the preferred option in academia.
Depending on whether the noun is in the plural or singular form, or what letter the noun ends in, placing the apostrophe follows specific rules. For possessives of nouns, “- ’s” is added to a singular noun or a plural noun that does not end in “-s,” while just an apostrophe is added at the end of a plural noun if it ends in “-s.”
Examples
- The cat’s toy. (The toy belongs to the cat, singular)
- The dogs’ park. (The park of the dogs, plural)
- The children’s playground. (The playground of the children, plural)
In contractions, apostrophes replace omitted letters. This is often the case for short forms of negated auxiliary verbs in sentence structures, or short forms of personal pronouns and auxiliary verbs.
Examples
- Do not ⇒ Don’t
- Have not ⇒ Haven’t
- You are ⇒ You’re
Apostrophes with singular possessive nouns
An apostrophe with possessive nouns is a punctuation mark that indicates ownership or belonging. The general structure is that the apostrophe is added at the end of the noun. The position of it depends on what type of noun you are dealing with.
For singular regular nouns or names, you add an apostrophe followed by the letter “s” at the end.
Examples
- Chloe’s phone is the latest model.
- I forgot the dog’s lead.
- He brought the girl’s book to class.
When dealing with possessive singular nouns or proper nouns ending in “s,” the rules for adding apostrophes can vary depending on the Style Guide. Generally, there are two accepted methods; either adding “-’s” or just an apostrophe to the end of the singular noun or name.
Examples
Method 1:
- James’s book has gone missing.
- The boss’s office is messy.
Method 2:
- James’ book has gone missing.
- The boss’ office is messy.
Special cases
Possessive pronouns
Apostrophes are entirely omitted with possessive pronouns, as they already show ownership, so adding an unnecessary apostrophe only causes confusion.
Examples
- The phone is hers.
- I forgot its lead.
- Is the book yours?
- The victory was clearly ours.
- She thought it was theirs.
- He brought his lunch.
Plurals of lowercase letters
Apostrophes are used to form the plurals of lowercase letters, primarily to avoid apostrophe confusion, such as “three p’s” instead of “three ps.” To pluralize a lowercase letter, add “-‘s” after the letter. Capitalized letters, numbers, and symbols generally do not require apostrophes to indicate plurals, though some Style Guides may prefer their use.
Examples
- Mind your p‘s and q‘s.
- He received two A‘s on his report card.
- There are four 7‘s in the winning number.
- Count the number of &‘s in the document.
Apostrophes with plural possessive nouns
Apostrophes with plural possessive nouns denote ownership of more than one person or thing. The rules for adding apostrophes in these cases depend on whether the plural noun is regular or irregular. Regular plural nouns, ending in “s,” only need the apostrophe after the “s.”
Examples
- The teachers’ room is on the third floor.
- My parents’ house is far outside the city.
- He refused the clients’ requests.
For irregular plural nouns, add “-‘s” to the end of the word.
Examples
- The children’s toys were expensive.
- The men’s public toilet has not been cleaned this week.
- My feet’s soles are hurting from the walk.
Joint possession
Joint possession occurs when two or more people jointly possess or own an item. To indicate joint possession, only one apostrophe is used with the last noun, rather than two unnecessary apostrophes.
Examples
- Alex and Sara’s car. (The car belongs to both)
- Joanne, Paul, and Maggy’s presentation. (All three worked on it)
- The dogs and cats’ toy. (The dogs and cats own the toy)
When each person owns separate items, you place an apostrophe to each person’s name to imply individual ownership. Here, it is also important to pluralize the items or list all the items owned individually.
Examples
- Alex’s and Sara’s cars. (Each owns a car)
- Joanne’s, Paul’s, and Maggy’s presentations. (Each made a different one)
- The dogs’ and cats’ toys. (The dogs and cats have separate toys)
These examples show how to use apostrophes for separate ownership.
Note: To indicate joint possession involving groups or plural nouns, obey the given rules for singular and plural forms.
Special case
Possessive pronouns
To indicate joint ownership involving pronouns, they must be in their possessive form. In each case, where one of the owners is a pronoun, the possessive form must be used for each noun or name.
Examples
| ✓Correct | ✘Incorrect |
| Taylor’s and her project. | Taylor and her project. |
| Ryan’s and my flat. | Ryan and my flat. |
| Bob’s, Kayla’s, and your house. | Bob, Kayla, and your house. |
Personal pronouns, unlike regular nouns, don’t use apostrophes to show possession. Common possessive pronouns like my, mine, his, her, our, your, yours, hers, its, ours, their, theirs, and whose should never have apostrophes; adding one often creates a contraction instead.
| Pronoun | Possessive pronoun | Absolute form |
| Me | My | Mine |
| You | Your | Yours |
| He | His | His |
| Her | Her | Hers |
| It | Its | – |
| We | Our | Ours |
| They | Their | Theirs |
| Who | Whose | – |
An absolute possessive pronoun (like mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) is a pronoun that stands alone to indicate ownership without needing a noun to follow it. Unlike possessive determiners (my, your, his, etc.), these pronouns do not modify nouns and do not require an apostrophe. They can show singular or plural ownership and indicate first, second, or third person.
Note: None of these forms include an apostrophe!
Contractions
Contractions are shortened forms of a word or group of words, created by omitting certain letters and replacing them with an apostrophe. They are commonly used in informal writing or style of speech to combine words and make language more fluid and conversational. In English, contractions are often used for personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and negative sentences.
Personal pronouns
One of the most common contractions is the shortened combinations of personal pronouns and the auxiliary verbs “to be” and “to have” in their respective conjugations.
Examples
“To be”:
- I am ⇒ I’m
- You are ⇒ You’re
- He is ⇒ He’s
- She is ⇒ She’s
- It is ⇒ It’s
- We are ⇒ We’re
- They are ⇒ They’re
“To have”:
- I have ⇒ I’ve
- You have ⇒ You’re
- He has ⇒ He’s
- She has ⇒ She’s
- It has ⇒ It’s
- We have ⇒ We’ve
- They have ⇒ They’ve
Other common contractions with personal pronouns occur in combination with modal auxiliary verbs such as “would” and “will,” or the past tense form “had.”
Examples
“Would” & “had”:
- I would/had ⇒ I’d
- You would/had ⇒ You’d
- He would/had ⇒ He’d
- She would/had ⇒ She’d
- It would/had ⇒ It’d
- We would/had ⇒ We’d
- They would/had ⇒ They’d
“Will”:
- I will ⇒ I’ll
- You will ⇒ You’ll
- He will ⇒ He’ll
- She will ⇒ She’ll
- It will ⇒ It’ll
- We will ⇒We’ll
- They will ⇒ They’ll
Indefinite pronouns
Among personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns are also often shortened by using contractions. Singular indefinite pronouns refer to nonspecific items, people, or groups of people and primarily use contractions when combined with “is” or “has.”
Examples
“Is” & “has”:
- Anyone is/has ⇒ Anyone’s
- Everyone is/has ⇒ Everyone’s
- Someone is/has ⇒ Someone’s
- No one is/has ⇒ No one’s
- Nobody is/has ⇒ Nobody’s
- Anybody is/has ⇒ Anybody’s
- Somebody is/has ⇒ Somebody’s
- Everybody is/has ⇒ Everybody’s
- Each is/has ⇒ Each’s
- Either is/has ⇒ Either’s
- Neither is/has ⇒ Neither’s
- One is/has ⇒ One’s
- Another is/has ⇒ Another’s
Negative contractions
Negative contractions are shortened word forms that combine a verb with the word “not.” They are commonly used in informal styles of speech or writing to make sentences more concise and natural.
Examples
- Do not ⇒ Don’t
- Does not ⇒ Doesn’t
- Did not ⇒ Didn’t
- Will not ⇒ Won’t
- Cannot ⇒ Can’t
- Could not ⇒ Couldn’t
- Should not ⇒ Shouldn’t
- Would not ⇒ Wouldn’t
- Has not ⇒ Hasn’t
- Have not ⇒ Haven’t
- Had not ⇒Hadn’t
- Is not ⇒ Isn’t
- Are not ⇒ Aren’t
- Was not ⇒ Wasn’t
- Were not ⇒ Weren’t
- Might not ⇒Mightn’t
- Must not ⇒ Mustn’t
Single quotation marks
Apostrophes can also serve as quotation marks. Single quotation marks are typically used for quotations within quotations (nested quotations), certain specialized contexts like titles of works within a quotation, or scare quotes within quotations.
Nested quotations
When a quotation within double quotation marks includes another quotation, the inner quotation is typically enclosed by a left-hand single quotation mark and a right-hand single quotation mark. This helps distinguish the nested quotation from the main quotation.
Examples
- “I asked, ‘How are you?’, and she replied, ‘I’m fine.’”
- John said, “I heard her say, ‘I will be late.’”
Titles of works
When quoting a title within a quotation, a left-hand single quotation mark and a right-hand single quotation mark are positioned around it.
Examples
- He asked, “Have you read Poe’s ‘The Raven’?”
- She mentioned, “I love the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’.”
Scare quotes
Scare quotes are used to express skepticism or irony. By using left-hand single quotation marks and right-hand single quotation marks within a quotation, you emphasize scare quotes to clarify the meaning.
Examples
- Maria said, “I don’t believe his ‘excuse’ for being late.”
- The teacher said, “His ‘explanation’ was hard to believe.”
Single quotation marks and other punctuation
The use of single quotation marks in conjunction with other punctuation marks follows specific rules that can vary based on the Style Guide and whether you adhere to British English vs. American English conventions. Here are the basic guidelines for both variations.
American English
In American punctuation, periods and commas are always placed inside the single quotation marks.
Examples
- He said, “The book is called ‘The End.’”
- John said, “I heard her say, ‘I will be late,’ when she called.”
When using semicolons and colons in conjunction with single quotation marks, they are always positioned outside the marks.
Examples
- She referred to the poem ‘Ode to a Nightingale’; it’s a classic.
- There is only one word to describe the film ‘The Matrix’: mind-blowing.
For question marks and exclamation points, the placement depends on whether they are part of the quoted material or not. If they are, they are placed inside, otherwise, outside.
Examples
- Did you read the article ‘How to Train Your Dog’?
- He screamed, “This is all your ‘fault!’”
British English
In British English, periods and commas are placed outside the quotation marks unless they are part of the quoted material.
Examples
- He said, “The book is called ‘The End’.”
- John said, “I heard her say, ‘I will be late’, when she called.”
Semicolons and colons are also positioned outside the single quotation marks in British English.
Examples
- She referred to the poem ‘Ode to a Nightingale’; it’s a classic.
- There is only one word to describe the film ‘The Matrix’: mind-blowing.
In British English conventions, question marks and exclamation points are placed inside unless they are not part of the quoted material.
Examples
- Did you read the article ‘How to Train Your Dog’?
- He screamed, “This is all your ‘fault!’”
Note: Always refer to the specific Style Guide you are following to ensure consistency in your use of apostrophes as single quotation marks combined with other punctuation.
FAQs
An apostrophe (’) is a punctuation mark used primarily in the English language for three main purposes: to indicate possession, to form contractions, and sometimes to denote plurals of certain letters and numbers.
Here are varying examples of using apostrophes:
- The teachers’ lounge is small.
- They haven’t been cleaned for a long time.
- Mind your p’s and q’s.
- My favourite genre is Rock ‘n’ roll.
- The children’s playground is old.
- Didn’t you see the film ‘Moby Dick’?
There are four types of apostrophes:
- Possessive apostrophes
- Contraction apostrophes
- Plural apostrophes
- Single quotation marks
There are special cases when apostrophes are left out:
- Possessive pronouns
- Plurals of regular nouns
- Decades and centuries
- Abbreviations and acronyms
- Family names
- Add -s’ to singular nouns and irregular plurals
- Add only ‘ to plural regular nouns
- Replace omitted letters in contractions with ‘
- Denote numbers and lowercase letters with -s’
- Enclose quotations within quotation with ‘…’
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