Apostrophes
Apostrophes are used to indicate the possessive forms of
nouns and indefinite
pronouns; contractions; and the plurals of letters, abbreviations, and
numbers. Except for plurals of letters, abbreviations, and numbers, it is
incorrect and confusing to use apostrophes with plurals that are not
possessives.
Possessives
To form the possessive of nouns ending in a letter other
than s, add 's.:
- children's toys
- brother's keeper
- cat's paw
To form the possessive of singular nouns ending in s, you may either
add 's or add only the apostrophe, whichever sounds the least awkward:
- boss's office
- press's inquiries
- Jones's strange career
- Jesus' teachings
- Moses' leadership
Contractions
Apostrophes are used to show omitted letters in
contractions:
- won't
- can't
- shouldn't
- I'll
- you're
Plurals of letters, abbreviations, and numbers
To avoid possible
confusion, you need an apostrophe with the plural of lower case letters.
Otherwise plurals of some letters (a,i, or u, for example) would look like
words.
There are too many s's and too many i's in Mississippi.
The plurals of capital letters may be formed with or without apostrophes, but
we need an apostrophe if there is a possibility of confusion.
CONFUSING: As on a report card are wonderful.
CLEAR: A's on a report card are wonderful.
To form the plural of abbreviations or numbers, we can use an apostrophe or
not. It is our choice as long as we are consistent within a particular piece of
writing.
apostrophe
quiz
Do you still have questions?
E-mail the Grammar Doctor