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May 18, 2023 · Knowing when to use an apostrophe can be tricky. Check out our easy guide of the do's and don'ts of apostrophes to make yourself a better writer.
Learn how to use apostrophes to show possession, plural, and contraction with regular and irregular nouns. See examples, tips, and common mistakes to avoid.
Learn how to use apostrophes to form contractions, show possession, and indicate duration in English. Find examples, warnings, and common errors with apostrophes.
- Possessive apostrophes with singular nouns. Apostrophes are used in possessive nouns to indicate that something belongs to something or someone else. To indicate possession with a singular noun, add an apostrophe “s” ’s at the end of the word.
- Possessive apostrophes with plural nouns. Most plural nouns already end in s. In this case, to indicate possession, add only an apostrophe to the end of the word.
- Possessive pronouns. Pronouns stand in for nouns. Possessive pronouns (e.g., mine, yours, hers, his, our, their, its) indicate that something belongs to someone or something.
- Joint possession. When multiple nouns jointly own one noun, an apostrophe is added after the last noun only. Example. Frida and Diego’s love was complicated.
- Dictionaryapostrophe/əˈpɒstrəfi/
noun
- 1. a punctuation mark (') used to indicate either possession (e.g. Harry 's book; boys ' coats) or the omission of letters or numbers (e.g. can 't; he 's; 1 Jan. '99): "a brief lecture on the correct use of apostrophes"
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Learn what an apostrophe is and how to use it correctly in different contexts. Find out the rules for possessive nouns, omission of letters, contractions, awkward plurals and more.
Learn how to use apostrophes for contractions, plurals, and possessives in English. Find out the general rules, exceptions, and common errors to avoid with apostrophes.