Possessives and apostrophes Use an apostrophe with a

Possessives and apostrophes

� Use an apostrophe with a noun to indicate ownership or possession of something. �A noun showing ownership usually comes just before the name of whatever is possessed. If you are unsure whether possession is being shown, use the “of” test: �Bird’s nest=the nest OF the bird �Clown’s nose=the nose OF the clown �Men’s suits=the suits OF the men

� Add an ’s to singular nouns �The baby’s toys are on the floor. (the toys of one baby) �The town’s holiday festival is tomorrow. (the festival of one town) �The worker’s salary is low. (the salary of one worker) � Add only an apostrophe to plural nouns that end in s �The babies’ toys are on the floor. (the toys of several babies) �The towns’ holiday festivals are tomorrow. (the festivals of several towns) �The workers’ salaries are low. (the salaries of many workers)

� Add ’s to plural nouns not ending in s �Children’s movies can be entertaining. �The men’s department is upstairs. � Add �My ’s to the last word in compound words brother-in-law’s business is about to fail. �It’s usually somebody else’s fault.

� Add ’s to the last noun to show joint possession �Joe and Janet’s house is up for sale. (They both own the house. ) � Add ’s to each noun to show individual (separate) possession �Joe’s and Janet’s cars are similar. (Each person has a car. )

� Use an apostrophe to form contractions. A contraction replaces one or more letters, numbers, or words. �It’s=it is �They’re=they are �Can’t=cannot �Everyone’s=everyone is �Class of ‘ 08=class of 2008

� Use an apostrophe to form the plural of lower case letters. �Ed’s i’s look like e’s. � The apostrophe is optional to mark plural abbreviations, dates, and words used as words. However, most current style guides recommend leaving out the apostrophe. �CD’s or CDs � 2000’s or 2000 s � 9’s or 9 s �maybe’s or maybes

� Do not use an apostrophe to form the plural of a noun. � NO: There are several swing set’s for sale. � YES: There are several swing sets for sale. � NO: We are keeping up with the Jones’s. � YES: We are keeping up with the Joneses. � NO: The menu includes fish taco’s. � YES: The menu includes fish tacos. � Do not use an apostrophe with verbs ending in s. � NO: Kelly swim’s very well. � YES: Kelly swims very well.

� Do not use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns. �NO: The house is all your’s. �YES: The house is all yours. �NO: The purse is her’s. �YES: The purse is hers. �NO: The crocodile snapped it’s jaws. �YES: The crocodile snapped its jaws.

� Do not use an ’s to form the possessive of plural nouns. �NO: We washed the Smith’s car. �YES: We washed the Smiths’ car. �NO: I called both the boy’s mothers. �YES: I called both the boys’ mothers.