When to use Apostrophe in English |Rules and Examples |Punctuation marks...

Apostrophe usage Rules and Examples

·  1. Use the apostrophe with contractions. The apostrophe is always placed at the spot where one or more letters have been removed. ¢ Examples: ¢ don’t, isn’t You’re right. She’s a great teacher. 2. Use the apostrophe to show possession. Place the apostrophe before the s to show singular possession. ¢ Examples: ¢ one boy’s hat ¢ one child’s hat (Names ending in s or an s sound are also required to have the second s added .) ¢ Mr. Jones’s golf clubs ¢ Mrs. Lees’s books (name is Lees) RULES

·  3. Use the apostrophe where the noun that should follow is implied. ¢ Example: ¢ This was his father’s, not his, jacket. 4. To show plural possession, make the noun plural first. Then immediately use the apostrophe. ¢ Examples: o two boys’ hats two women’s hats o two actresses’ hats two children’s hats 5. With a singular compound noun, show possession with ’s at the end of the word. ¢ Example: ¢ my mother-in-law’s hat

·  6. If the compound noun is plural, form the plural first and then use the apostrophe. ¢ Example: ¢ my two brothers-in-law’s hats 7. Use the apostrophe and s after the second name only if two people possess the same item. Examples: Sara’s and Amna’s job contracts will be renewed next year. (Indicates separate ownership.) ¢ Sara and Amna’s job contracts will be renewed next year. (Indicates joint ownership of more than one contract.) 8. Never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns: his, hers, its, theirs, ours, yours, whose. They already show possession so they do not require an apostrophe. ¢ Example: Correct: This book is hers, not yours. Incorrect: Sincerely your’s. The final three punctuation forms in English grammar are the apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipsis. Unlike previously mentioned grammatical marks, they are not related to one another in any form.

An apostrophe (') is used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word, the possessive case, or the plurals of lowercase letters. Examples of the apostrophe in use include:

• Omission of letters from a word: I've seen that movie several times. She wasn't the only one who knew the answer.
• Possessive case: Sara's dog bit the neighbor.
• Plural for lowercase letters: Six people were told to mind their p's and q's.

It should be noted that, according to Purdue University, some teachers and editors enlarge the scope of the use of apostrophes, and prefer their use on symbols (&'s), numbers (7's) and capitalized letters (Q&A's), even though they are not necessary.

The apostrophe is used to indicate possession.

Example: Rahul’s book, Ritu’s mobile (s apostrophe= apostrophe mark + s with singular nouns)

Boys’ school, students’ union (s apostrophe= apostrophe mark after the s with plurals)

It is also used to indicate the omission of a letter in a word.

Do not - don’t

That is - that’s

It is - it’s