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
Lincoln Stretch rentals Alsip ..At some point along the way, most of us have... Read More
What Makes a Great Headline?Headlines are far more important than... Read More
The process of developing a working title for your nonfiction... Read More
Freelance writer STANLEY BURKHARDT has a passion for animals. He... Read More
There's nothing that kills a scene like hackneyed dialogue. Just... Read More
To write books for readers at an elementary reading level... Read More
Has the thought run across you mind that you might... Read More
Agents and publishing houses have their best interests at heart,... Read More
First, let's tackle the question that is uppermost in many... Read More
You may wonder why I have chosen this title of... Read More
For several years before I left teaching to write full... Read More
Often, time is an enemy of writers. Sales seem slow... Read More
Someone once commented that there were no new ideas to... Read More
One obvious question that can get overlooked in the process... Read More
There is an image most people carry of the artist... Read More
What possibly could I have to write about? I never... Read More
Recently, I was hunting for a book that would simply... Read More
Les Edgerton writes in his book, Finding Your Voice, that... Read More
First drafts are for getting down the ideas. Anna Jacobs... Read More
Over the past eight years or so, I have tutored... Read More
The only way to become a writer is to write.... Read More
Today Norm Goldman, Editor of sketchandtravel and bookpleasures is honored... Read More
Charles Dickens was born in Portsea, England, in1812. His father... Read More
I'm in the process of moving from one computer to... Read More
Peter Abrahams is the author of thirteen novels, including "The... Read More
Western Springs shuttle limo ..Many experts recommend reading as a way to get ideas,... Read More
Some writers complain that writing is arduous work requiring long... Read More
Maybe you should write a book! This is not as... Read More
EditingExpect, allow, and accept that every first draft will represent... Read More
First impressions count in writing too! So it is always... Read More
Written communication is often the first impression you make on... Read More
How many times have you checked out a job board... Read More
In reviewing and browsing web sites over the years, I... Read More
Great writing transports one vicariously to realms that the reader... Read More
This is the ideal topic for us all to think... Read More
1 - Join a reading or writing group. Ask members... Read More
Or do you?Writers write. You shouldn't wait around for inspiration... Read More
Some writers are just too kind.They hate to put their... Read More
Why would anyone want to write for trade journals? Aren't... Read More
Writing is hard work, and like all hard work, one... Read More
To capitalize on ways to make extra income you can... Read More
The urge to write fiction seems God given for some,... Read More
The works you've written are numerous, ranging from short stories... Read More
If you are looking for copywriter books, you'll want to... Read More
It never ceases to amaze me when a prospective writer... Read More
In my ten years as an advertiser, I've encountered plenty... Read More
Building a new website can be extremely exciting. Seeing your... Read More
Beyond three and four act story structure, lies the Hero's... Read More
For many years, I've been a tutor for students undertaking... Read More
Writing papers and book reports has long been the bane... Read More
Writing |