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. Back to Top |