Language Arts In this article we take a look at the ins and outs of apostrophes in order to gain a better understanding of how to use an apostrophe correctly in English. Apostrophes are used in possessives, contractions, plurals, and abbreviations. Read on to learn more.

Apostrophes have four main uses. They are used to create the possessive case of singular and plural nouns. They are used to show where letters have been omitted in a contraction. They are used to form the plural of symbols, signs, letters, and numbers. And they are used in abbreviated words to show where letters have been omitted. This article will provide an overview of all four uses.

Possessives

• The singular possessive is formed by adding apostrophe s.

That oak tree's acorns are always huge.

I'm not sure if the ice cream's manufacturer is Ben and Jerry or not.

That is Mr. Falcon's mother's cacti collection you're looking at.

Ms. Higgins's gerbil escaped.

These examples demonstrate how to treat a standard singular noun (tree's), how to treat a singular compound noun (ice cream), how to treat two consecutive possessives (Mr. Falcon's mother's), and how to treat a singular that ends in s (Ms. Higgins's).

• The plural possessive for nouns ending in s is formed by adding the apostrophe only.

Those oak trees' acorns are always huge.

I'm not sure if the ice creams' manufacturer is Ben and Jerry or not.

That is Mr. Falcon's brothers' cacti collection you're looking at.

The Higginses' gerbil escaped.

These examples demonstrate how to treat a a standard plural noun (trees'), how to treat a plural compound noun (ice creams), how to treat two consecutive possessives, the second of which is plural (Mr. Falcon's brothers'), and how to treat a plural of a singular that ends in s (The. Higginses').

• Personal pronouns have a possessive case of their own (mine, ours, yours, his, hers, its, theirs, whose) and do not require an additional ending. Indefinite pronouns (everybody, everyone, one, etc.) form the possessive with apostrophe s.

One may not want to dye one's hair green, but his hair looks pretty good in that shade.

Contractions

Contractions are a special way of combining two or more words into one. Common contractions include:

Personal subject pronouns with forms of to be.

I'm                        we're
you're                    you're
he's, she's, it's        they're

Personal subject pronouns with forms of to have.

I've                       we've
you've                   you've
he's, she's, it's        they've

And personal subject pronouns with forms of will, and shall.

I'll                         we'll
you'll                     you'll
he'll, she'll, it'll        they'll

Contractions can also be formed with to do (How'd you do that?) and with the negative adverb, not, combined with verbs.

• A contraction of two words has an apostrophe to show where letters have been omitted.

Naomi didn't wash the floor.

Pete wouldn't visit the hyena house with me.

Angela hasn't ever seen the Empire State Building.

Plurals

Forming plurals with apostrophes is not universally done (in some styles the apostrophe is omitted - at least in certain instances). While it clarifies the distinction between the symbol, sign, letter, or number and the ending, it gives the apostrophe an ambivalent meaning.

Note that in most cases in which the apostrophe is used to create a plural, it is also a case in which the symbol, sign, letter, or number is being used as a symbol, sign, letter, or number, rather than designating the thing it denotes, which means that it should be in italic type. This distinction may be difficult to grasp, so here's an example (these examples are bold, rather than italic throughout, so that you may see the difference).

She lives at 36 W. Carey St. Apt. #3G.

Please place two #'s at the end of your document.

In the first sentence, # is a part of the address, and is properly in Roman type like the rest of the address. In the second example, the # is being referred to as a symbol to be typed, and is therefore properly italic.

• The plural of symbols, signs, letters, and numbers is shown by adding apostrophe s.

How many s's in the word Mississippi?

You need to more clearly differentiate your 0's from your O's in your writing.

Abbreviation

There are some words that are abbreviated in English but not combined into another word. Sometimes the form becomes accepted as a standard word with no apostrophe, and sometimes the apostrophe continues to be used to signal the missing letters. Whether or not the apostrophe is used may depend on the context and purpose.

• Words that are shortened sometimes are spelled with apostrophes to show where letters have been omitted.

I can't go to the movies tonight 'cause I'm having dinner with my nephew.

It is important to be careful when keyboarding such abbreviations because if you enter it in order, you will get a single quote rather than an apostrophe:

Beginning single quote: ‘cause
Apostrophe: 'cause

One approach is to put the apostrophe after the word and then drag or paste it into the proper position.