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Apostrophes

MASTER THE APOSTROPHE (’)—SEVEN RULES

An apostrophe (') shows possession:

the child's toy

the film's star

the teacher's desk

the store's prices

the city's drug problem

the dog's tail

You can also use apostrophes to create special relationships between words: a night's sleep, two months' pay.

Seven Rules for Using the Apostrophe

Rule 1:Use the apostrophe to show possession; add -'s to a singular noun .

Monrovia, Liberia's capital, was named after U.S. president James Monroe.

Add -'s to a singular noun that ends in –-s or –-z, as long as doing so does not make the pronunciation of that noun awkward. If doing so creates awkwardness, add only the apostrophe.

Jazz's origins go back to Afro-American spirituals.

BUT

Jesus’ teachings can be found in the New Testament.

Rule 2: Use the apostrophe to show possession; add only -' if the noun is plural and ends in /-s.

The two countries’ borders were in dispute.

Rule 3: Use the apostrophe to show joint possession in a series; add -'s only to the last noun.

Groucho, Chico, and Harpo's films are still funny.

Rule 4: Use the apostrophe to show individual possession in a series; add -'s to each noun.

Boston's and San Francisco's waterfronts are interesting, but I prefer Seattle's.

Rule 5: Use the apostrophe in contractions in place of omitted numbers or letters.

She will graduate with the class of '99.
Because it's raining, we can't go to the park.

CAUTION:

It's = it is; can't = cannot.

Rule 6: Use the apostrophe to form the possessive of a hyphenated word; add -'s after the last letter.

Not:My mother-in-laws home
Not:My mother's-in-law home
But:My mother-in-law 's home

Rule 7: Add an apostrophe to abbreviations and letters and numbers to make them plural.

Syed received three A's and two B's as final grades.
Three 747's sat on the runway.

CAUTION:

In general, do not use an apostrophe to form plurals.

Not:Hitler planned to conquer the nation's of Europe.
But:Hitler planned to conquer the nations of Europe.

CAUTION:

Do not add an apostrophe to a pronoun that is already possessive.

Not:Under Hitler, Germany sought it's place in the sun.
But:Under Hitler, Germany sought its place in the sun.

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