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Undergraduate Writing Center University of Texas
Apostrophes
One of the greatest problems facing humanity today is the emergence of the rogue apostrophe. A rogue apostrophe is an apostrophe (one of these: ') that appears when it doesn't belong. Where do you use apostrophes? Apostrophes are used for two main reasons in English.
1. An apostrophe replaces a missing letter or letters. For example, the apostrophe in "don't" takes the place of the missing "o" in "do not." Words like "don't," "isn't," and "I'll" are called contractions.
2. Apostrophes are also used to show ownership. They make words possessive. For example, the phrase "Carl's dog" means "the dog belonging to Carl."
How to make a word possessive depends on whether the word is singular or plural. singular words: add 's. Carl's dog, the woman's pencil, Bevo's food
Note: Even if a singular word ends with an s, add 's to the end to show possession: Charles's book
plural words: o if the plural word ends with s, add ' (apostrophe alone): the teachers' lounge, the Andersons ' apartment if the plural word does not end with s, add 's: the children's cat.Common places where rogue apostrophes appear:
1. Sometimes people put apostrophes into words that end with s.
For example, often writers add apostrophes to plural words that are not possessive.
incorrect: The bug's sing and dance on the lawn.
correct: The bugs sing and dance on the lawn.Just because a word ends with an s does not mean it needs an apostrophe. Make sure that you only use apostrophes to show possession and in contractions.
2 . Some words always cause apostrophe trouble. This group includes his, hers, its, and theirs. These words are called possessive pronouns; they are pronouns with possession built into them already, so they do not need apostrophes.
incorrect: The dog plays with it's toy.
correct: The dog plays with its toy.
incorrect: The baby is their's.
correct: The baby is theirs.
This is a difficult thing to remember; many writers make apostrophe mistakes like these in freewriting and first drafts. It is important to check your apostrophes before turning in a paper. Especially tricky words: *it's/its* These two words mean different things.
It's, with the apostrophe, is a contraction. It means "it is," and the apostrophe stands for the missing "i."
Its, without the apostrophe, is a possessive pronoun. For example, in "The bird fell out of its nest," its means "the bird's."
If you don't know which to use, try substituting "it is" in the place of it's/its. If you can use "it is", then it's is the right choice. Otherwise, use its.
incorrect: The dog plays with it is toy.
correct: The dog plays with its toy.*who's/whose*This pair is similar to it's/its. Who's, with an apostrophe, means "who is." ex: My friend John, who's a great dancer, is coming to the party.
Whose, without an apostrophe, is a possessive pronoun. ex: My friend John, whose mother is a doctor, is studying medicine. In the sentence above, whose refers to John; John's mother is a doctor. If you are unsure about which to use, substitute "who is" for who's/whose. If "who is" fits, use who's; if not, use whose.
incorrect: My friend John, who is mother is a doctor, is studying medicine.
correct: My friend John, whose mother is a doctor, is studying medicine.