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Apostrophe

The document discusses the three main uses of apostrophes: 1) to form possessive nouns, such as "the owner's car"; 2) to show the omission of letters in contractions like "don't"; and 3) to form plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols, like "two A's". It provides examples for each use and clarifies that apostrophes are not used to form possessive pronouns like "his" or regular noun plurals.

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Lindo CaloniaCalifornia
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100 views1 page

Apostrophe

The document discusses the three main uses of apostrophes: 1) to form possessive nouns, such as "the owner's car"; 2) to show the omission of letters in contractions like "don't"; and 3) to form plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols, like "two A's". It provides examples for each use and clarifies that apostrophes are not used to form possessive pronouns like "his" or regular noun plurals.

Uploaded by

Lindo CaloniaCalifornia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The apostrophe has three uses: 1) to form possessive nouns; 2) to show the omission of

letters; and 3) to indicate plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols. ​Do not ​use apostrophes to
form possessive ​pronouns ​(i.e. ​his​/​her ​computer) or ​noun ​plurals that are not possessives.

1) To Show Possession
To see if you have a possessive, turn the Example: the newspaper’s column = the
phrase around and make an “of …” phrase. column of the newspaper
To show possession by a singular noun, add ​’s Example: the owner’s car.
to the singular form of the word (even if it Example: James’s hat.
ends with the letter ​s​.)
Add ​’s ​to the plural forms that do not end in ​s​. Example: the children’s game
Example: the geese’s honking
Add ​’s ​to the end of plural nouns that end in ​s​. Example: the houses’ roofs
Example: three friends’ letters
Add ​’s ​to the last noun in a group to Example: Todd and Anne’s apartment.
show joint possession of an object.

2) To Show Omission of Letters


In contractions, one or more letters (or Examples:
numbers) have been omitted. The don’t = do not
apostrophe shows this omission. I’m = I am
**Contractions are common only in shouldn’t = should not
speaking and informal writing. didn’t = did not

3) To Form Plurals of Letters, Numbers, and Symbols


Although apostrophes are usually ​not​ used to form plurals, they ​are​ inserted in the creation of the
plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols.
Two A’s = two letters that happen to both Example: Nita got A’s on her Biology quizzes.
be A.
Six 5’s = six numbers that are each 5. Example: There are six 5’s in my SSN.
Many &’s = Many ampersands Example: That printed page has too many &’s
on it.

Do Not Use Apostrophes for Possessive Pronouns or for Noun Plurals


His, her, its, my, yours, and ours are possessive Examples:
pronouns. The group made its decision.
**(Note: ​it’s​ is the contraction meaning ​it is​.)

“The Apostrophe”. ​Online Writing Lab (OWL)​. December 2000. Purdue University. 28 June
2002 < http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_apost.html >.

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