A GUIDE TO PUNCTUATION - APOSTROPHES

Apostrophes - Using Them Properly

The mighty apostrophe ('), for as small as it is, serves two important purposes. It is a punctuation mark that can take the place of another letter or letters, creating a contraction. It can also make a word possessive.

Using apostrophes in contractions

With contractions, the apostrophe combines two words by removing one or more letters from either or both words. There isn’t much to memorize about this rule, since contractions are largely recognized words and, without the apostrophe, you’re just misspelling what you’re writing. Still, it’s important to understand why apostrophes are there in the first place.

‍King Arthur looked at the ogre again, but decided he didn’t want to—no, he couldn’t—waste any more time. They were late enough already!

“That’s enough,” Merlin muttered. “It’s time to go.”

Using apostrophes to make words possessive

Apostrophes are also able to make words possessive. This means another word belongs to or is related to the noun modified by the apostrophe. By adding an apostrophe and an s (-’s) to a word, you make it possessive.

‍Suddenly, Merlin’s staff hummed with power. A portal opened up between them and the ogre. Without hesitating, the pair ran through it, bringing Arthur’s horse and the wizard’s wagon of party supplies with them.

‍But what about words that end in s? That’s a question that stumps a lot of writers. If the noun you are modifying is plural (i.e. it represents more than one of the same type of thing), then you simply add an apostrophe without the extra s.

‍Stepping through the portal, the pair saw a row of warriors guarding the party. Or, rather, they saw the tips of the warriors’ swords.

‍Singular nouns, on the other hand, get the apostrophe and the accompanying s, even if they end in an s.

‍“Put your swords down.” Arthur recognized the princess’s voice even before he saw her. “There won’t be any swordplay at our party.”

It’s and its

One of the most confusing exceptions to the rules of apostrophes is the rule of it’s and its. In this case, you have two words that are nearly identical in appearance but with vastly different meanings. One is a contraction and the other is possessive, even though an apostrophe is supposed to do both of those things.

‍It’s is a contraction of it is. Just like other contractions, you are replacing a letter with an apostrophe and smooshing the two words into one.

‍Its, on the other hand, is the possessive form of it. Unlike every other word in the English language, a possessive it does not get an apostrophe. Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy way of remembering this; you just have to commit it to memory.

I hope this helped you understand the concept of apostrophes better, stay tuned for a guide to exclamation marks!