When do i use s apostrophe

Note the following: He lost his book. Which seats are ours? The bull lowered its head. Whose are these spectacles? Note in particular the spelling of possessive its. This is wrong , wrong , wrong — but it is one of the commonest of all punctuation errors. I have even met teachers of English who get this wrong. The conventional spelling its is no doubt totally illogical, but it's nonetheless conventional, and spelling the possessive as it's will cause many readers to turn up their noses at you.

Amy's ballet class has a recital and Robert's car is in the shop. So, the Smiths are trying to get everything done with only Lisa's car. Today, they've been to school, practice, rehearsal, the grocery store, and the veterinarian's office.

Mind you, they aren't finished yet. They'll be busy until late tonight and, tomorrow, they'll do it all again. English apostrophe rules are not difficult to master. Just remember that all possessives need an apostrophe and an "s" at the end. If the word already has an "s," it only needs an apostrophe. If the word does not already have an "s," it needs the apostrophe followed by "s. As for contractions, the only apostrophe rule you need to remember is that if you take something out, replace it with something else.

Then squish everything together, so it looks like one word. Now, are you ready for some fun? Learn when NOT to use an apostrophe! All rights reserved.

Apostrophe Uses Apostrophes serve two basic functions in writing: to show possession to indicate that letters have been removed to form a contraction Learn more about the different ways apostrophes are used with an examination of possessives and contractions at work, including lots of examples. Apostrophe Rules for Possessives It would be difficult for possessives to exist without apostrophes. Amy 's ballet class Lisa 's car Robert 's car Style guides vary when it comes to a name that ends in an "s.

In this case, you can show possession for Ross in either of two ways: Ross ' room Ross 's sports team 2. Apostrophe Rules for Joint Possessives When you want to show that two people have ownership over something, it can get a little tricky. Joint Ownership If both people own the same item together, you can add the possessive to the final one. It is a common error for people to write "it ' s i t apostrophe s " for possessive when they should write "its. It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older.

This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Write Clearly: Punctuation. Using Colons Using Apostrophes What is an apostrophe? Use an apostrophe when two words are shortened into one 2. Use an apostrophe when showing possession 3. Do not use an apostrophe with pronouns to show possession 5. Don't use an apostrophe for plural nouns 6.

What is an apostrophe? An apostrophe is a punctuation mark used to create a contraction or to show possession. Use an apostrophe when two words are shortened into one When two words are shortened into one, the apostrophe replaces the missing letter s.