The apostrophe is a punctuation mark used in writing both contractions and the possesive form of nouns.
A contraction is a contracted form of one or more adjacent words in which certain letters have been left out, reflecting the curtailed pronunciation of the word(s). The apostrophe is put in the place where the letters have been removed. For instance, didn't is a contraction for did not, and he'd is a contraction for he had or he would.
Contractions are usually inappropriate in formal writing and speech: for instance, will not is more appropriate than won't.
In casual writing, common contractions are acceptable, but obscure contractions are still better spelt out.
When writing poetry in which rhythm is important or when trying to emulate a particular manner of speech, contractions may be used more liberally.
Consider the following sentences:
The first sentence is appropriate for both formal and casual occasions. The second sentence is acceptable for everyday speech and casual writing. The third sentence using "John's" for "John is" is acceptable for common speech but should be avoided in most writing.
The following are common contractions: I'm (I am), I've (I have), I'd (I would, I should or I had), you're (you are), you've (you have), you'd (you would, you should or you had), he's (he is or he has), he'd (he would, he should or he had), she's (she is or she has), she'd (she would, she should or she had), it's (it is or it has), it'd (it would, it should or it had), they're (they are), they've (they have), they'd (they would, they should or they had), who's (who is or who has), who'd (who would, who should or who had), what's (what is or what has), ain't (am not), aren't (are not), isn't (is not), wasn't (was not), weren't (were not), do not (don't), didn't (did not), can't (cannot), couldn't (could not), won't (will not), wouldn't (would not), shan't (shall not), shouldn't (should not), hasn't (has not), haven't (have not), hadn't (had not), ma'am (madam), o'clock (of the clock), y'all (you all).
When the is or has is elided with the previous word, the elision may be represented by writing the word with an apostrophe and "s". For example, "Joe's over there." for "Joe is over there."; likewise, "Joe's been working." for "Joe has been working."
In normal writing, this contraction is avoided lest it be mistaken for a possessive noun.
Sentences such as "My parents've been in town since yesterday." are common in speech but are usually written out.
Changing -ing to -in' is often done in writing to convey a lack of conformant sophistication or to mock those who speak a (stereotypically rural) dialect in which -in and -ing are not distinguished. Example: "Gone Fishin'"
An infinite number of contractions is conceivable. Here are a few you might see: 'bus (omnibus), 'cause (because), 'gator (alligator). There are a few frequent contractions resigned to the poetic realm: e'er (ever), o'er (over).
Contracting auxiliary verbs with have is common in speech, but, in writing, these contractions look awkward and should be avoided. However, worse yet is the highly questionable practice of recording such speech with of in place of 've.
Ain't is a general-purpose negative word which is commonly used in place of "am not", "are not", "is not", "has not" and "have not". Although it is often used by some in casual conversations, it is generally considered improper except as a contraction for "am not". Still, many speakers avoid the contraction altogether because its frequent misuse has given the word a reputation of being chiefly in the vocabulary of illiterate hicks.
Some speakers so disgusted by the misuse of ain't go overboard in their avoidance by selecting a completely incorrect verb form when asking the question "Aren't I?". Good speakers, however, usually say "Ain't I?" or, to avoid controversy, "Am I not?"
In speech, the word and is contracted so that it is only a nasal /n/ sound. Although this may be contracted as 'n' (use apostrophes--make sure the first apostrophe isn't an opening quotation mark), it is probably better to convey a brief pronunciation with the ampersand (&) symbol which is normally read as /n/. Many substandardly contract and with an n and only one apostrophe.
The contraction o'clock for of the clock sounds stilted in its uncontracted form. Even in formal writing, the contracted form o'clock is usually preferred.
In spite of these arguments, I must recommend that y'all be written you all in formal writing and y'all in casual writing.
When a word ends in a, i, or o, some writers prefer to form the past tense by adding 'd; other writers add the usual ed. Thus, you may see any of the following forms: subpoena'd, subpoenaed, ski'd, skied, echo'd, echoed.
Some poets will apply the 'd suffix (or t) to other verbs to emphasise that the ending is not pronounced as a separate syllables. Other poets assume ed is usually not a separate syllable, but use èd to show that the syllable is pronounced separately. These alterations are only needed when rhythm is important, so they are usually restricted to the realm of poetry and song.
Br'er is a contraction for Brother.
As mentioned earlier, he'd may be a contraction for he had (He'd been waiting for an hour.) or he would (I didn't know what he'd choose.). However, he had can only be contracted when had is being used as an auxiliary (helper) verb. Had cannot be contracted in sentences such as "He had five fingers before the accident." Likewise, he would could not be contracted in an answer of rebuttal such as "Yes, he would."
To indicate ownership or possession, nouns are usually given the suffix -'s. For example, "That is Joe's dog." indicates the dog belongs to Joe.
Plural nouns which already end in an s only add an apostrophe AFTER the final s. For exmample, "There are the bakers' hats." Be careful since the placement of the apostrophe changes the meaning.
When using ancient names which end in -s, -z, -ce, -x. For example, Ajax' power, Achilles' heel, Jesus' name. (It is also acceptable to use 's, especially when it is not a common phrase: for instance, Achilles's elbow.)
Some people apply the previous rule to all words ending in -s, -z, -ce, -x as well; others don't: James's or James', Curtis's or Curtis'.
Words ending in -s, -z, -ce, or -x before the word sake take only the apostrophe: goodness' sake, conscience' sake.
Some speakers believe that only nouns representing God, human beings or personified entities may be used in the possessive form. Thus, "the radiator of the car" would be p referable to "the car's radiator" since the car cannot actually own or possess the radiator.
Pronouns have special possessive forms and usually do not take an apostrophe. There are two possessive pronoun forms: the normal form and the absolute form. Here are the forms:
| pronoun | I | thou | he | she | it | we | ye, you | y'all | they | who | one | that | which |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| possessive | my | thy | his | her | its | our | your | y'all's* | their | whose | one's | that's* | whose* |
| possessive absolute | mine | thine | his | hers | its | ours | yours | y'all's* | theirs | whose | one's | that's* | whose* |
| * — forms so marked may be contested as to whether or not they really exist. | |||||||||||||
Especially in older writings, my and thy are changed to mine and thine before vowels: for example, "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" and "Have Thine Own Way".
To avoid confusion with another word, an apostrophe is used in forming the plural of a letter as in "There are four i's in Mississippi." For consistency's sake, an apostrophe is used for other letters as well; for instance, "There are four s's in Mississippi."
By extension, some people use an apostrophe to form the plural of an abbreviation or acronym, but it is perfectly fine, an more in line with the formation of normal plurals to omit any apostrophe as in "I have 25 CDs."
Apostrophes are inappropriate when forming the plural form of normal words. However, such usage is becoming more and more prevalent as topics like diversity, self-esteem, and political correctness are preached in schools in replacement for the teaching of punctuation and grammar.
In Gwinnett County, Georgia, many school buses were given a sign that said "I like my job. Do you like your's?" I would not want to send my children to a school system making up poorly punctuated signs like that. Let it be known, if you don't know how to use apostrophes correctly, you, too, may end up to be a signmaker for some school system.
To indicate that there is more than one of something, usually add -s (or -es) with NO apostrophe. Some words (child) have special plural forms (children).
The apostrophe looks like a comma which has been lifted from the bottom of the line so that its top is even with the top of capital letters. Here an an example sentence with two apostrophes:
The apostrophe is the mark in the words don't and Linda's.
The apostrophe should look just like a closing single quotation mark. Oftentimes, the apostrophe and both opening and closing single quotation marks all look the same. When using a typeface in which the opening and closing single quotation marks are distinct, be sure to make the apostrophe look like a closing single quotation mark and not like the opening one. Here is an example containing quotation marks:
Note: The above sentence was written using the normal quotation style typically used in America. Many writers in Britain and elsewhere in the English-speaking world, the single and double quotation marks would be reversed, and the sentence would be written as follows:
Adam said, ‘Eve said, “Eat some.”’
Sometimes word processors on computers try to be smart. When a typist presses the ' key (which can be interpreted as apostrophe, opening quotation mark, closing quotation mark, or acute accent mark), the computer may use the logic that it is supposed to be an opening quotation mark if it immediatedly follows a space or an apostrophe or closing quotation mark [both of which look the same] if it follows a letter.
This logic, though normally reasonable, causes problems for words or curtailed years which start with apostrophes: For example, the “Class of '84” should have an apostrophe--not an opening quotation mark. Here is an example of how it is written using a typeface which distinguishes the two:
To avoid the situation where a word processor improperly changes an apostrophe at the beginning of a word to an opening quotation mark, do this: type a bogus character before the word, then type the apostrophe and the remainder of the word. After you have typed the word, go back and delete the leading bogus letter. For example, type “Class of X'84” and then go back and delete the X.
In handwritten documents, the apostrophe is often written as a simpler mark as in this example:
Linguistic concerns
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