Apostrophe Rules
Table of contents
The use of apostrophes in English punctuation covers three key rules: possessive nouns, contractions, plurals.
Possessive
The first use of the apostrophe is in the possessive forms of nouns. The basic rules of use are similar for all academic papers' styles, but the Associated Press style is different.
| 1. The possessive form of the singular noun is formed by adding an apostrophe and the letter 's' at the end of the word, regardless of the noun's ending. |
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| 2. You can form the plural of the possessive form of a noun by adding an apostrophe if the noun ends with the letter 's.' |
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| 3. If the plural form of a noun ends in other letters, you need to add an apostrophe and the letter 's.' |
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Individual or Shares Possessions
Indicate joint possessions with a single apostrophe.
Examples:
- ✔️ This lecture will include Milgram and Foster's psychology textbook.
- ✔️ Stacey and Luc's house was wonderful.
You should indicate individual possession with separate apostrophes for each possessor.
Examples:
- ✔️ Spain's and Austria's sanctions are stopped.
- ✔️ Anna's and Beth's apartments are in the same building.
Exceptions
| 1. Nouns that have a plural form, denoting the singular number or phrase with the last word in the plural form ending in 's' only use an apostrophe. You don't need to add a second letter 's.' |
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| 2. Leave it as it is if the proper noun already has a possessive form. |
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| 3. If the noun has the ‘-s’ sound in the end and when the word ‘sake’ follows them, you should use the only apostrophe. |
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Contractions
Be careful with contractions! Formal writing rarely allows for contractions, especially in academic writing. Therefore, when writing papers, be attentive to the instructions and guidelines. However, in various forms of texts, avoidance of contractions can make the syllable as formalized and pompous as possible.
The apostrophe in contractions denotes missing letters. The most common contractions consist of verbs, modal or auxiliaries, attached to other words.
| ⚪ Contraction | ⚪ Meaning |
|---|---|
| ain't | am not |
| aren't | are not |
| can't | cannot |
| couldn't | could not |
| didn't | did not |
| doesn't | does not |
| don't | do not |
| everybody's | everybody is |
| everyone's | everyone is |
| hadn't | had not |
| he'll | he will |
| he's | he has / he is |
| here's | here is |
| I'd | I had |
| I'm | I am |
| let's | let us |
| mustn't | must not |
| they'll | they will |
| we've | we have |
| won't | will not |
| you've | you have |
Plurals
Apostrophes are rarely used with plurals, but you still need to know the rules not to make mistakes when writing an essay. A rare exception is the use of letters, words, or certain abbreviations as nouns. If you can avoid confusion or misreading without using an apostrophe, it is best not to use it.
Example
- ✔️ He got two B's and three A's.
- ✔️ My boss fired two M.D.'s.
- ✔️ You should dot all of yours i's in the sentences.
- ✔️ Do they have more yes's or no's?
Exercises
Punctuate the following sentences with apostrophes according to the rules, and use 's where is needed.
- The father documents were missing.
- I found a book in Sara home.
- Tiffany husband bought a new car.
- In two weeks time they have to begin classes again.
- He couldnt remember where he saw the keys last time.
- My phone number has two 5s, and Ann phone number has three 4s.
- The weather was so good, so weve decided to go to the river in Sam car.
- The Sun waves lay over Maria shoulders.
- Didnt he tell you that Dan parents are leaving tomorrow?
- Luc found himself putting three m in the word common.
Answers:
- The father's documents were missing.
- I found a book in Sara's home.
- Tiffany's husband bought a new car.
- In two weeks' time they have to begin classes again.
- He couldn't remember where he saw the keys last time.
- My phone number has two 5s', and Ann's phone number has three 4s'.
- The weather was so good, so we've decided to go to the river in Sam's car.
- The Sun's waves lay over Maria's shoulders.
- Didn't he tell you that Dan's parents are leaving tomorrow?
- Luc found himself putting three m's in the word common.