Home
>
Writing
>
That Cute Lil Ol Apostrophe

That Cute Lil Ol Apostrophe

Have you ever had a student write to tell you they've achieved Grade A's at exams? I have, and one of them was a grade A in English!

The apostrophe seems to be the most misunderstood punctuation mark in the English language, and yet its use is really very simple.

There's really only one rule: an apostrophe is used to replace one or more missing letters.

Nothing more - nothing less.

Contractions

A contraction is a word that is a shortened form of on or several words through the removal of one or more letters.

The following are examples of commonly used contractions.

Do not -> Don't
Did not -> Didn't
Can not -> Can't
Was not -> Wasn't
We have -> We've
They are -> They're
It is -> It's
It has -> It's

The following are examples of contractions used within a sentence:

The boy is walking the dog -> The boy's walking the dog
I did not steal the buns -> I didn't steal the buns
They were not walking to town -> They weren't walking to town

There are times when we need to write as we would speak. This is especially so when writing dialogue in fiction.

The title of this article "That Cute Li'l Ol' Apostrophe" is an example. Here I've used apostrophes to show the contractions that are made in colloquial speech, as in the case of

Little -> Li'l
Old -> Ol'

You may well believe that the first example is wrong; that there should be an extra apostrophe to denote the missing 'e' at the end of 'little'. That would be wrong.

We never use more than one apostrophe to a word.

While the general rule is to use the apostrophe in place of the last missing letter, such as in "shall not -> shan't", if we need to choose between missing letters that we'd normally pronounce and those that are silent, use the apostrophe to denote the missing sounds.

The use of apostrophes in contractions should be easy to remember. Just think of what the word you're using really represents. If it's two words that have been joined to make one, an apostrophe should be in there somewhere. Likewise if it's a truncated word.

Possessives

First of all, a possessive is a word that owns the word that follows it. Confused? Let me show you.

My daughter's toys

The toys belong to my daughter, therefore daughter is the possessive word.

The shop's manager

While the shop doesn't actually own the manager, without the shop there would be no manager so shop becomes the possessive. However,

The manager's shop

would also be correct as the manager runs the shop.

Possessives are always nouns.

But hold on.... where are the missing letters?

Good question. To understand the answer, let's quickly zip back in time.

English is a Germanic language and written English originally shared possessive forms with German. If we go back to the 14th century, when Chaucer wrote "Canterbury Tales", we find that possessives didn't include apostrophes, but had an extra "e" added.

For example:

My daughteres toys / The manageres shop

Although that looks very clumsy to us, that was the accepted form of writing possessives in Chaucer's day. As the language has evolved, we've simply removed the extra 'e' and replaced it with an apostrophe. The same applies where a person's name is the possessive:

Lisaes toys / Jameses shop

becomes

Lisa's toys / James's shop

Although in the case of words or names that end with an 's', it's also acceptable to write

James' shop

So you see, even when using possessives, the apostrophe is replacing a missing letter.

The Exception To The Rule

The possessive form of 'it' should never include an apostrophe. "It's" is a contraction of "It is" while "its" is the possessive form of "it" which is a pronoun and belong alongside other pronouns such as "his", "hers", "ours", "yours" and "theirs", none of which have apostrophes.

Plural Possessives

The same rule as above applies but the apostrophe is moved.

My sisters' clothes / The dogs' bones

In these instances, the clothes belong to more than one sister and the bones belong to several dogs.

Chaucer would have written:

My sisterses clothes / The dogses bones

The last two letters have been removed and replaced by an apostrophe.

If, however, the possessive is a word that already donates the plural form of another word, as in the case of 'child/children', writing "the childrens' shoes" would be wrong. We already know from the word itself that it means more than one child, making "The children's shoes" the correct way of writing it.

Regular Plurals

Apostrophes are used ONLY in contractions and possessives.

Carrot's for sale - Many duck's on a pond - I bought two CD's - I washed his sock's

The above are all examples of an apostrophe being used to show that a word is plural. DON'T DO IT!

It's wrong.

Some otherwise excellent writers trip up on this point and by using an apostrophe where it isn't called for, the meaning of a sentence can change dramatically.

"Beware: Truck's turning!"

What does this mean? Does the turning belong to the truck? If so, why are we being warned of it? Not that I've ever known a truck to own a turning so I can only assume that the apostrophe has been misused.

"Beware: Trucks turning!"

That's better. Now we're being warned that trucks are likely to turn.

Conclusion

The correct use of apostrophes shouldn't be difficult to understand. It really is a case of "no missing letter - no apostrophe needed". If you remember that possessives also have missing letters and that 'its' is an exception, you'll never need make an apostrophe blunder again.

Sharon Jacobsen is a professional content and copy writer living in Cheshire, England. She's been writing in one form or another for more years than she cares to remember and becomes quite upset when people are unnecessarily sloppy with their apostrophes (or lack of them).

If you'd like Sharon to help you with articles or copy, please contact her through her website at http://www.sharon-jacobsen.co.uk

cheap limo service Lombard .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

Hertz, the rental car giant, recently confirmed that customer information was exposed through a cyberattack on one of its software vendors.

There are a number of features with AirPods you may or may not know about to take your listening experience to the next level. Kurt the CyberGuy explains.

These 35 Chrome extensions have privacy and security concerns. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says to delete them now.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says 329,000 mph fusion rocket promises to be fast, disruptive and enable deep-space missions.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says a new autonomous AI is a game changer that also raises privacy risks. Is your data safe?

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says robots and drones are revolutionizing fruit farming with faster picking and smarter handling.

Landmark Admin revises May 2024 cyberattack scope to show twice as many people were affected. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson gives tips to help stay safe from an insurance data breach.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how Yamaha’s hydrogen outboard motor could revolutionize boating with zero emissions.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals how to memorialize or remove a deceased loved one’s Facebook account and protect their digital legacy from misuse or scams.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says an Apple Watch saved psychiatrist Amanda Faulkner by detecting deadly leukemia early.

Scammers and fraudsters are increasingly targeting the most vulnerable, especially nursing homes and the personal data of their residents. Kurt the CyberGuy has safety tips.

Infected USB flash drives can spread malware among multiple organizations in ways that can easily bypass traditional security systems.

With a fully automated warehouse system and AI-powered robots, Ocado's Hive picks, packs and delivers grocery store orders in just a few minutes.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Recycling robots are using artificial intelligence to learn how to sort recyclables by recognizing patterns in colors, textures, shapes and logos.

The Reachy 2 robot is designed to be friendly and approachable, inviting natural interaction and is perfect for research, education and experimenting with embodied AI.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson shares several easy ways to keep your credit cards safe from digital thieves while you're traveling this summer.

Arcturus sets up cameras around the edges of baseball stadiums to capture real-time action and generate a 3D digital clone of the game.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

The CyberGuy explains why healthcare organizations are vulnerable to hackers after there have been a half dozen data breaches this year.

Developed at two California universities, the innovative technology combines brain-computer interfaces with advanced AI to decode neural activity into audible speech.

Microsoft patches 12 critical flaws, but six have already been exploited by criminals. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says updating your system is only a short-term fix.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson discusses how robots can milk, feed and clean cows on dairy farms, boosting efficiency and comfort.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says quantum internet ensures unhackable security and redefines online privacy and speed.

That Cute Lil Ol Apostrophe

Writing