How to use apostrophes

Apostrophes are used to do two things: to abbreviate missing letters and to show possession.

1 Apostrophes as abbreviations

Look at the following examples of apostrophes used as abbreviations:

We have arrived can be abbreviated to: We've arrived I cannot can be abbreviated to: I can't I will do it can be abbreviated to: I'll do it I am here can be abbreviated to: I'm here

One of the most common apostrophe mistakes occurs when using it's or its:it's is short for ‘it is’; its indicates possession.

2 Apostrophes to show possession

When apostrophes are used to show possession, it is easy to get confused about where to put the apostrophe: should it go before or after the ‘s’? For example:

•         If there is one girl: The girl's book. The apostrophe shows possession—the book belongs to the girl.

•         If there is more than one girl: The girls' book. The book belongs to the girls.

Possible confusion occurs when a word, usually a name, ends in an ‘s’. For example:

•         Parsons' theory is the theory formulated by Parsons (the ‘s’ is part of the actual name). In effect, what you are implying here is Parsons's theory but adding the final ‘s’ is seen as unnecessary.

Other problems occur when plurals are confused with apostrophes. For example:

•         It is the families problem should be It is the family's problem.