How to Know if You Need an Apostrophe
Apostrophes tin be tricky. Sometimes they grade possessives. Sometimes they course contractions. Can they always make something plural?
Apostrophe Use: Contractions and Omissions
A contraction is a shortened class of a word (or group of words) that omits certain letters or sounds. In a wrinkle, an apostrophe represents missing letters. The virtually common contractions are made upward of verbs, auxiliaries, or modals attached to other words: He would=He'd. I have=I've. They are=They're. You cannot=You lot can't.
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Some writers utilize less common contractions when they desire to represent a particular style of spoken language. They might write somethin' to represent the way people ofttimes don't pronounce the final m of "something" in speech. Occasionally, y'all might run across east'er (instead of ever) in poetry. And, of course, in the American Southward, you lot volition probably meet y'all (you all). Decade names are often contracted as well: the '60s (the 1960s).
| Wrinkle | Uncontracted | Examples |
| -due north't | not | Isn't (is non), hasn't (has not) |
| -'re | are | They're (they are), nosotros're (we are), you lot're (you are) |
| -'d | had, would | She'd (she had, she would), I'd (I had, I would) |
| -'ll | volition | Nosotros'll (nosotros will), you'll (you will) |
| -'southward | is | He's (he is), it'due south (it is) |
| I'm | I am | — |
| allow's | let u.s.a. | — |
Contractions are usually considered to be relatively coincidental. If you lot're writing something very formal, you may want to avert using them except in cases similar o'clock, where the full phrase (of the clock) truly is rare.
Apostrophes and Possessive Nouns
The rules about forming possessive nouns probably cause the nearly apostrophe confusion. They vary a little bit, depending on what type of substantive you are making into a possessive. Here are the rules of pollex:
For most singular nouns, add apostrophe+s:
For nearly plural nouns, add only an apostrophe:
For plural nouns that practise not end in s, add apostrophe+southward:
Style guides vary in their recommendations of what to do when you accept a atypical proper noun that ends in due south. Some recommend calculation only an apostrophe:
Others say to add apostrophe+s:
No thing which style guide you use, add only the apostrophe to plural proper nouns that cease in southward:
Apply whichever style matches the style guide you utilise for your writing. If you don't have a style guide, it'southward OK to just pick one of the methods, as long as you don't switch back and forth within the aforementioned document.
Apostrophes and Possessive Pronouns
Personal pronouns, unlike regular nouns, do not use apostrophes to course possessives. Most writers don't have trouble with the possessive pronouns my, mine, his, her, and our. It's your, yours, hers, its, ours, their, and theirs, that tend to cause the confusion. The relative possessive pronoun whose is also frequently the victim of apostrophe abuse. Note that none of these forms uses an apostrophe. In fact, for some of these pronouns, adding an apostrophe forms a wrinkle instead of a possessive (see the table above).
| Pronoun | Possessive Pronoun | Absolute (Independent) Form |
| Me | My | Mine |
| You | Your | Yours |
| He | His | His |
| Her | Her | Hers |
| Information technology | Its | — |
| We | Our | Ours |
| Them | Their | Theirs |
| Who | Whose | — |
How to Write Articulation Possession
What exercise you practise with the apostrophe when y'all're talking about things that vest to more one person? When one thing belongs to two or more people, make only the terminal name possessive:
When you're talking well-nigh split things that belong to dissimilar people, make all the names possessive:
Using possessive personal pronouns in joint constructions ofttimes sounds awkward (You have their and my gratitude). Commonly, the best solution is to rephrase the sentence to avoid the joint construction (You have our gratitude or You lot have their gratitude and mine).
Apostrophes and Plurals
Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common error. Sometimes, information technology's called the grocer'southward apostrophe because of how oft information technology is spotted in grocery store advertisements (3 orange's for a dollar!). Don't do it! With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make nouns plural.
The one notable exception to this rule is the plural form of lowercase letters, which are formed with an apostrophe to foreclose misreading:
Apostrophes with Surrounding Punctuation
An apostrophe is part of the word it belongs to, so it should not be separated from the word by periods, commas, question marks, or any other punctuation mark.
In the 2d example, accept note of the apostrophe at the starting time of 'Twas. Apostrophes that fall at the very showtime of a contraction are ofttimes mistyped as left-hand single quotation marks. Give-and-take processors tend to exercise this by default. Go along this in heed, especially when yous are writing nigh specific decades, such every bit the '60s or the '90s.
When to Check a Style Guide
Sooner or later, you'll come across a phrase that sounds fine out loud but looks weird on paper considering of the apostrophes. Do's and don'ts? Dos and don'ts? Do'south and don't'southward? For cases like these, it's best to bank check a comprehensive style guide, such as the Chicago Manual or the AP Stylebook (it'due south do'due south and don'ts, according to the AP). A good dictionary may likewise be able to offer you some guidance. If you can't find a precedent, information technology'south probably best to apply a unlike discussion or phrase; overly artistic apostrophe use will inevitably distract your readers. 
Source: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/apostrophe/
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