Welcome to the World of Apostrophes!
Have you ever seen a tiny mark floating in the air like a comma that lost its way? That is an apostrophe! Apostrophes are very helpful marks that have two main jobs in English: they show where letters are missing (contraction) and they show who owns what (possession).
By the end of these notes, you will be an apostrophe expert, knowing exactly where to place them and—just as importantly—where to leave them out!
1. Apostrophes for Contractions (Missing Letters)
Sometimes, we like to squash two words together to make them shorter and easier to say. This is called a contraction. When we do this, some letters get kicked out! The apostrophe acts like a placeholder to show exactly where those letters used to be.
How it works:
Think of the apostrophe as a little bit of glue that holds the remaining letters together.
Examples:
do not becomes don't (The 'o' is missing)
I am becomes I'm (The 'a' is missing)
it is becomes it's (The 'i' is missing)
we will becomes we'll (The 'w' and 'i' are missing)
A Common Trap: It's vs Its
This is one of the trickiest bits of English!
It's (with an apostrophe) only ever means "it is" or "it has".
Its (without an apostrophe) means "belonging to it" (like the dog wagged its tail).
Top Tip: If you can say "it is" in the sentence and it still makes sense, use the apostrophe!
Key Takeaway:
In a contraction, the apostrophe always goes where the missing letters lived.
2. Apostrophes for Singular Possession
When one person, animal, or thing owns something, we call this singular possession. To show this, we usually add an apostrophe and then the letter 's' to the end of the owner's name.
The Rule: Name + ' + s
The coat belonging to the boy = The boy's coat
The toy belonging to the dog = The dog's toy
The pencil belonging to Sarah = Sarah's pencil
Did you know? Even if a person's name ends in 's', like Charles or James, you still usually add 's to show they own something (e.g., Charles's book).
3. Apostrophes for Plural Possession
This is for when a group of people or things owns something. This is called plural possession. Most plural words in English already end in the letter 's'. To show they own something, we just add the apostrophe after the 's' that is already there.
The Rule: Plural Name + '
The field belonging to the cows = The cows' field
The room belonging to the teachers = The teachers' room
The shoes belonging to the boys = The boys' shoes
What about "Irregular" Plurals?
Some groups don't end in 's', like children, men, or people. Because these words don't have an 's' at the end yet, we treat them like singular words and add 's.
Examples:
The children's playground
The people's choice
Key Takeaway:
If the word already ends in 's' because it is a plural, just put the apostrophe on the outside: s'. If it doesn't end in 's', add 's.
4. The Plural vs. Possessive Distinction
One of the most common mistakes is putting an apostrophe where it doesn't belong! Just because a word ends in 's' does not mean it needs an apostrophe.
Don't use an apostrophe for:
Simple Plurals: If you are just talking about more than one thing, you don't need an apostrophe.
I have three apples. (Correct)
I have three apple's. (Incorrect - the apples don't own anything!)
Checklist to get it right:
1. Is it a contraction? (Are letters missing?) -> Use an apostrophe.
2. Is it possession? (Does it own something?) -> Use an apostrophe.
3. Is it just more than one? (A plural) -> No apostrophe needed!
Quick Review: Where does the mark go?
The girl's hat = One girl, one hat.
The girls' hats = A group of girls owning hats.
The girls are wearing hats = No ownership, just more than one girl (no apostrophe!).
Note: For more information on other punctuation marks, see our chapters on "Sentence demarcation" and "Commas".