Proper apostrophe usage often seems more complicated than it really is. Check out this video on apostrophes:

Let's learn more about the apostrophe!

The apostrophe appears twice in the example below:

Example: My grandmother’s shotgun doesn’t work.

2 Different Uses of the Apostrophe

There are 2 different uses of an apostrophe:

1. To show omission of one or more letters in a contraction

2. To show ownership or possession

Learn about each below.

Use an Apostrophe in a Contraction

We use the apostrophe to show omission of one or more letters in a contraction.

A contraction is formed when two words are combined to make one word:

Have + not = Haven’t

Can + not = Can’t

I + will = I’ll

I + am = I’m

It + is = It’s

Watch out! Here is an unusual contraction: Will + not = won't

Don't Use Contractions in Academic Tone

Generally, to maintain academic tone, you do not use contractions in an essay.

Say “cannot” instead of “can’t”

Say “does not” instead of “doesn’t”

It just makes you sound smarter.

Use an Apostrophe to Show Ownership or Possession

To show ownership or possession, we can say:

the jacket that belongs to Tony OR Tony’s jacket

the grades possessed by James OR James’s grades

the gas station owned by our cousin OR our cousin’s gas station

the footprints of the animal OR the animal’s footprints

The Rules of the Possessive Apostrophe

1. The ‘s goes with the possessor not the thing possessed:

Example: My cat’s bed NOT my cat bed’s

2. A singular possessive word that ends in s still gets an ‘s:

Example: James’s street

Example: Dennis’s yard

3. You do not add apostrophes to possessive pronouns:

Here are the possessive pronouns:

its

theirs

his

hers

ours

yours

mine

Example: her jacket NOT her’s jacket

Example: his jacket NOT his’s jacket

4. Possessive plural words that end in “s” are special:

Show the possessive of a plural possessive simply by adding an apostrophe:

Example: My parents’ car (one car belonging to both parents).

Example: My parent’s car (one car belonging to one parent).

Example: All my cousins’ cars (many cousins, many cars).

Example: Both of my parents went to the store separately in their respective cars, so both of my parents’ cars were at the store (two different cars belonging to two different parents).

EXCEPTION! Watch out for the difference between it's and its

it’s = it is

its = possessive form of it (the possessive pronoun)

Example: It’s going to rain.

its = possessive form of “it”

Still unsure? Visit the Center for Academic Success!

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