terrisus
Member
Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a comprehensive list. I'm sure I've forgotten a number of cases that I meant to mention, and didn't cover every possible situation.
First off, just as a preface to this thread, quotations around a single symbol are apostrophes. So, while you would say, for instance, an "apostrophe," you would say an 's.'
Just because a word ends in an 's' doesn't mean you need an apostrophe before or after it. Don't just reflexively put an apostrophe before or after a word just because it ends with an 's' - think when you use apostrophes.
There are two main times when apostrophes are used.
The first, which is fairly straightforward, is in contractions. In contractions, an apostrophe is used in place of a letter or letters that is/are being removed. For instance:
I'm (I am), can't (cannot), isn't (is not), wouldn't (would not), haven't (have not), ain't (ai not)
If you're using an apostrophe as part of a contraction (or think you are), ask yourself "What letter or letters is/are the apostrophe replacing?" and put the apostrophe in place of the letter or letters. If it isn't replacing any letters, it's not a contraction, so don't use it (examples of mis-use: wan't, wen't)
The other area that apostrophes are used is to show possession. There are a couple different cases where this shows up:
Singular words ending with a non-s letter:
Dog -> Dog's (belongs to the dog)
House -> House's (belongs to the house)
Clock -> Clock's (belongs to the clock)
Plural words ending with an 's':
Frogs -> Frogs' (belonging to the frogs)
Ducks -> Ducks' (belonging to the ducks)
Bags -> Bags' (belonging to the bags)
Now, for a more confusing set:
Singular words ending with an 's'
James -> James's (belonging to James)
Francis -> Francis's (belonging to Francis)
Charles -> Charles's (belonging to Charles)
There is an exception to this, however. To quote from APA (6th ed.), p. 97
"Use an apostrophe only with the singular form of names ending in unpronounced s (e.g., Descartes'). It is preferable to include "of" when referring to the plural form of names ending in unpronounced s (e.g., the home of the Descartes)."
A couple more notes on misuse:
"Its" is possessive already by definition of the word, it does not need an apostrophe.
For example, "That is its last use."
You only add an apostrophe if you are using "it's" as a contraction for "it is"
(Credit to vatstep down below, since I had meant to mention this and completely forgot it).
"Boy's" means belonging to a single boy
"Boys'" means belonging to a group of boys
"Dog's" means belonging to a single dog
"Dogs'" means belonging to a group of dogs
Relating back to the fact that the fact that apostrophes in contractions replace letters (or numbers), the following are correct:
'80s (the decade of the 1980s)
'90s (the decade of the 1990s)
The following does not refer to a decade:
90's (this would mean something belonging to "90." For instance, "90's always seems like ages away - but I'm a 3rd of the way there already.")
Another area to note is apostrophe use with acronyms. You only need to use an apostrophe if you are using possessive. For instance:
CDs (more than one CD)
CD's (belonging to the CD)
CDs' (belonging to a set of CDs)
EDIT: Oh yeah, another random tidbit:
In general, to make a word ending with a 'y' plural, remove the 'y' and and "ies"
puppy -> puppies
kitty -> kitties
Writing "puppy's" or "kitty's" would mean something belonging to a single puppy or kitty. For example:
The puppy's collar
The kitty's toy
As I said at the start, this is not meant to be a comprehensive list. I'm sure I've forgotten a number of cases that I meant to mention, and didn't cover every possible situation. So, others are free to offer up other apostrophe usages.
As well, definitely feel free to ask questions - I won't get to everything, but someone probably will.
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts" - Bertrand Russell
First off, just as a preface to this thread, quotations around a single symbol are apostrophes. So, while you would say, for instance, an "apostrophe," you would say an 's.'
Just because a word ends in an 's' doesn't mean you need an apostrophe before or after it. Don't just reflexively put an apostrophe before or after a word just because it ends with an 's' - think when you use apostrophes.
There are two main times when apostrophes are used.
The first, which is fairly straightforward, is in contractions. In contractions, an apostrophe is used in place of a letter or letters that is/are being removed. For instance:
I'm (I am), can't (cannot), isn't (is not), wouldn't (would not), haven't (have not), ain't (ai not)
Ignore that last one, I'm not being serious there.
If you're using an apostrophe as part of a contraction (or think you are), ask yourself "What letter or letters is/are the apostrophe replacing?" and put the apostrophe in place of the letter or letters. If it isn't replacing any letters, it's not a contraction, so don't use it (examples of mis-use: wan't, wen't)
The other area that apostrophes are used is to show possession. There are a couple different cases where this shows up:
Singular words ending with a non-s letter:
Dog -> Dog's (belongs to the dog)
House -> House's (belongs to the house)
Clock -> Clock's (belongs to the clock)
Plural words ending with an 's':
Frogs -> Frogs' (belonging to the frogs)
Ducks -> Ducks' (belonging to the ducks)
Bags -> Bags' (belonging to the bags)
Now, for a more confusing set:
Singular words ending with an 's'
James -> James's (belonging to James)
Francis -> Francis's (belonging to Francis)
Charles -> Charles's (belonging to Charles)
There is an exception to this, however. To quote from APA (6th ed.), p. 97
"Use an apostrophe only with the singular form of names ending in unpronounced s (e.g., Descartes'). It is preferable to include "of" when referring to the plural form of names ending in unpronounced s (e.g., the home of the Descartes)."
A couple more notes on misuse:
"Its" is possessive already by definition of the word, it does not need an apostrophe.
For example, "That is its last use."
You only add an apostrophe if you are using "it's" as a contraction for "it is"
(Credit to vatstep down below, since I had meant to mention this and completely forgot it).
"Boy's" means belonging to a single boy
"Boys'" means belonging to a group of boys
"Dog's" means belonging to a single dog
"Dogs'" means belonging to a group of dogs
Relating back to the fact that the fact that apostrophes in contractions replace letters (or numbers), the following are correct:
'80s (the decade of the 1980s)
'90s (the decade of the 1990s)
The following does not refer to a decade:
90's (this would mean something belonging to "90." For instance, "90's always seems like ages away - but I'm a 3rd of the way there already.")
Another area to note is apostrophe use with acronyms. You only need to use an apostrophe if you are using possessive. For instance:
CDs (more than one CD)
CD's (belonging to the CD)
CDs' (belonging to a set of CDs)
EDIT: Oh yeah, another random tidbit:
In general, to make a word ending with a 'y' plural, remove the 'y' and and "ies"
puppy -> puppies
kitty -> kitties
Writing "puppy's" or "kitty's" would mean something belonging to a single puppy or kitty. For example:
The puppy's collar
The kitty's toy
As I said at the start, this is not meant to be a comprehensive list. I'm sure I've forgotten a number of cases that I meant to mention, and didn't cover every possible situation. So, others are free to offer up other apostrophe usages.
As well, definitely feel free to ask questions - I won't get to everything, but someone probably will.
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts" - Bertrand Russell
And in keeping with that quotation, I probably made a whole pile of mistakes in this post, so feel free to mock away in the inevitable situation that I did.
