by Shannon Naylor<\/p>\n
One little mark has never been so intimidating. Whether it\u2019s popping up in places it doesn\u2019t belong or disappearing from where it\u2019s needed, the apostrophe can be tricky to use properly. Let\u2019s break it down.<\/p>\n
The apostrophe signals one of two things:<\/p>\n
Contractions<\/strong><\/p>\n Ex. I\u2019m (I am), you\u2019re (you are), he\u2019s (he is), let\u2019s (let us)<\/em><\/p>\n Contractions are most commonly used in verbal speech, but can appear in writing for a couple of different reasons. When writing dialogue, authors will generally use contractions as people do when they speak out loud. In other professional (but not formal) writing, writers may use contractions to create a laid back, conversational tone. Contractions are generally not appropriate in formal academic writing, so it is a good idea to edit them out of your papers.<\/p>\n Possession<\/strong><\/p>\n The apostrophe is also used to indicate possession. It answers the question \u201cwho owns what?\u201d Let\u2019s say you\u2019re describing a dog owned by your cousin. You could say:<\/p>\n The dog owned by my cousin is adorable.<\/em><\/p>\n The dog of my cousin is adorable.<\/em><\/p>\n But these sentences are kind of ugly. Let\u2019s use a possessive apostrophe (\u2018s<\/strong>, also called the genitive case) to make this cleaner.<\/p>\n My cousin\u2019s dog is adorable.<\/em><\/p>\n To indicate an owner in the form of a singular noun, add ‘s<\/strong> to the end of the word. (This is what we saw above.)<\/p>\n The dog owned by my cousin<\/em> becomes my cousin\u2019s<\/strong> dog<\/em>.<\/p>\n To indicate an owner in the form of a plural noun that ends in s<\/strong>, add just<\/strong> the apostrophe after the s<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The dog owned by my cousins <\/em>becomes my cousins\u2019<\/strong> dog.<\/em><\/p>\n