CONTRACTIONS       POSSESSION      NOUNS ENDING IN "S"       ITS AND IT'S       COMMON ERRORS

Apostrophes are used in contractions to indicate that one or more letters have been left out of a word.  Some common examples are listed below:

is not  - becomes -  isn't                are not  - becomes -  aren't                   do not  - becomes -  don't
I am  - becomes -  I'm                  could not - becomes - couldn't               I will  - becomes -  I'll
I have - becomes - I've                 they are - becomes - they're                 she is - becomes -  she's
they have - becomes - they've       should have - becomes - should've
 

Some examples of sentences using contractions:

    * If they could've left early, they'd have been here by now. (could have; they would)
    * Everyone's invited. (everyone is)
    * Karl didn't call, just as you'd expected. (did not; you had)
    * Sheila's not going to meet us for lunch; she's been waiting in line for an hour. (Sheila is;
       she has)
 

Apostrophes are also used to make nouns possessive, to show ownership.  When nouns are singular, we generally add an apostrophe and the letter "S" to indicate possession:

    * Jeremy's laundry took forever to dry.
    * Spock's ears are a dead giveaway.
    * Is this anyone's watch?
    * By week's end, we were tired.
 

When singular or plural nouns end with the letter "S," we most often drop the final "S" after the apostrophe:

     * The dress' button is coming loose.  (One dress has a button.)
     * Doris' mother is coming with us.  (One person -- Doris -- has a mother.)
     * The Smiths' lawn needs cutting.  (More than one Smith has a lawn.)
     * The horses' hooves were shiny.  (More than one horse has hooves.)
 

Its and It's - This is perhaps the most confusing aspect of apostrophe usage, but it's really quite easy to determine whether or not an apostrophe belongs:

"It's" is a contraction; it's the shortened form of "it is."
"Its" is a possessive pronoun. We use "its" to indicate possession by something nonhuman, or which has no defined male or female gender.

For example:

The dog wagged its tail. --The tail belongs to the dog.
Once the can was bent, its lid wouldn't fit properly. --The lid belongs to the can.
The baby wants its bottle.  -- The bottle belongs to the baby.
It's a beautiful day. -- It is a beautiful day.

Common errors made using apostrophes

No apostrophe is needed to form a simple plural:

Examples of incorrect usage:        The ponie's galloped across the plains.
                                                    Dave beached all of the rowboat's.

Corrected forms:                        The ponies galloped across the plains.
                                                     Dave beached all of the rowboats.

Sometimes a simple plural is used when a possessive is needed:

Examples of incorrect usage:      The babies bottle is on the floor.
                                                    The rockets red glare. . .

Corrected forms:                         The baby's bottle is on the floor. (one baby)
                                                    The rocket's red glare. . .  (one rocket)
                                                    The rockets' red glare . . . (many rockets)
 
 

                                                                                              Prepared by Bill Conklin.