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1. An apostrophe can be used to replace a letter (or letters):
Examples:
The weather's bad. (In full: weather is)
Alan can't deliver on Tuesdays. (In full: cannot)
Dawn could've left earlier. (In full: could have)
They know it's not appropriate. (In full: it is)
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WRITE THEM OUT IN FULL
In business writing, you should not use apostrophes to replace letters. You should write all words in their full forms.
Therefore, the delivery date can't be met. (use "cannot" )
It's available for collection on Tuesday. ( use "It is" )
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2. Common errors related to this subject:
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YOU'RE & YOUR
"You're" is short for "you are".
You're a naughty boy.
"Your" is not short for "you are". It is used to show
possession.
This is your PC.
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IT'S AND ITS
"It's" is short for "it has" or "it is". (There are no other uses.)
It's stopped raining, and it's sunny.
"Its", on the other hand, is similar to "his" and "her" and is used to show possession.
I'm near the whale. I can see its tail.
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NOT SHOULD OF
"Should've" sounds like "should of", but it is short for "should have". (This is the same for "could've" and "would've".)
should of , could of , would of
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NO APOSTROPHE
Words like "ours", "theirs", "yours" and "hers" do not have apostrophes in them.
These books are ours.
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1. An apostrophe and the letter "s" are often used to show possession. For example: "the boy's house".
Examples:
Take the girl's hand and place it on the cushion.
(hand belonging to the girl)
I had to remove Jane's label and replace it.
(label belonging to Jane)
2. In the examples above, each apostrophe appears before the letter "s". However, it is possible for the apostrophe to appear after the letter "s" too. This happens when more than one person (or thing) owns the object (or objects).
Examples:
The horses' hay is damp.
(hay belonging to the horses; note: more than one horse - apostrophe after s)
The ladies' toilets are out of bounds.
(toilets belonging to the ladies; note: more than one lady - apostrophe after s)
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BEFORE OR AFTER THE S?
Therefore, when showing possession, the rules are:
To show singular possession - apostrophe before the "s"
the cat's dinner (one cat)
the cat's dinners (one cat)
To show plural possession - apostrophe after the "s"
the cats' dinner (more than one cat)
the cats' dinners (more than one cat)
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3. Mistakes with apostrophes are very common. One reason for this is the number of exceptions to the rules above. For example, plural words which do not end in the letter "s" (e.g. "men", "people" and "children") have the apostrophe before the "s" when showing possession.
Examples:
He is the people's poet.
Leave the children's presents in the hall until they have gone to bed.
4. To make things even more complicated, singular words which end in "s" (e.g. "Charles", "Wales", "Paris" and "Dickens") can end in just an apostrophe or 's when showing possession.
Examples:
It is Charles' birthday. It is Charles's birthday. (both correct)
I have not seen Wales' new stadium. (or Wales's )
6. Here is another quirk. Some compound nouns (e.g. sister-in-law) do not form their plurals by adding s to the end (e.g. sisters-in-law). With a noun like this, the possessive form is created by adding 's to the end, regardless of whether it is singular or plural.
For example:
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Singular
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Plural
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sister-in-law's pond
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sisters-in-law's husbands
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colonel-in-chief's arrival
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colonels-in-chief's meeting
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maid of honour's bouquet
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maids of honour's dresses
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7. Finally, joint ownership is shown by making the last word in the series possessive; whereas, individual ownership is shown by making both (or all) parts possessive.
For example:
Andrew and Jacob's factory...
(joint ownership)
(note: only the last part is possessive)
Andrew's and Jacob's factories...
(individual ownership)
(note: both parts are possessive)
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1. Apostrophes are used in time expressions such as "3 years' insurance" (also called "temporal expressions"). In a temporal expression, the apostrophe is positioned before the "s" for single units of time and after for multiple units of time.
Examples:
Alan was given one day's notice. (one day - apostrophe before the s)
That is the equivalent of one year's pay. (one year - apostrophe before the s)
My car came with a years' free insurance.
(one year - apostrophe should be before the s)
There is six months' interest-free credit on all sofas.
(six months - apostrophe after the s)
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1. The plurals of abbreviations, letters and numbers can be written using apostrophes. For example:
He sent 3 SOS's between midnight and 6 a.m.
There are two a's in accommodation.
Your 2's look like your 7's.
1000's of bargains
2. The advantage of using an apostrophe is that the abbreviation or letter is instantly recognizable. However, as covered above, apostrophes can also be used for possession. Therefore, when apostrophes are used to show plurals, it can lead to ambiguity.
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1. The rules about when to use apostrophes are explained in Sections 1-4 above. In summary, they are:
a. To replace missing letters (e.g. aren't).
b. To show possession (e.g. Sarah's jumper).
c. In expressions such as "3 months' wages".
d. In the plurals of abbreviations, letters and numbers (e.g. 6's and 7's).
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