by Laura Tibbetts<\/p>\n
Apostrophes can sometimes be persnickety! If you feel that way, I hope you enjoy the following guide about when to use this lovely form of punctuation (hint: there are two main times).<\/p>\n
THE TWO MAIN TIMES<\/strong> (I told you this was coming):<\/p>\n 1. Contractions<\/strong>\u2014<\/b>combining two words and\/or taking out letters<\/p>\n examples: until\u2014 \u2019til; you are\u2014you\u2019re; it is\u2014it\u2019s<\/p>\n Note: The only time there is an apostrophe in it\u2019s<\/i><\/b> is when the word is meant to be a contraction of \u201cit is.\u201d The possessive of the word has no apostrophe, as in this: The mouse ate its cheese.<\/p>\n 2. Possessives<\/strong>\u2014<\/b>when something belongs to something else<\/p>\n example: the cat\u2019s hat<\/p>\n example: the cats\u2019 hats (multiple cats)<\/p>\n Note: For plurals like women and children, which do not end in s<\/b><\/em>, add the apostrophe before the s<\/b><\/em>, as in this: the children\u2019s books<\/p>\n Some people get confused about what to do with words that already end in s<\/i><\/b>, like Jesus or Socrates. Mostly for the sake of pronunciation, many writers will simply add an apostrophe (not another s<\/i><\/b>) at the end\u2014Jesus\u2019 parables or Socrates\u2019 long robe\u2014when indicating possession.<\/p>\n In case you were curious, here are some examples of times not to use apostrophes:<\/p>\n 1. With plurals (unless of course they are possessive)\u2014for example, the plural of Monday is Mondays, not\u00a0 Monday\u2019s For more information, check out Purdue OWL: https:\/\/owl.english.purdue.edu\/owl\/resource\/621\/01\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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\n2. With the pronouns his, hers, yours<\/i>, or ours<\/i> (and don\u2019t forget its<\/i>)
\n3. With who<\/i>, when it is meant to be possessive\u2014the word who\u2019s<\/i> means who is<\/i>. And if you\u2019re trying to ask who a book belongs to you would say, \u201cWhose book is this?\u201d<\/p>\n