Apostrophe’s
An apostrophe is the mark ‘ when it is written to indicate that one or more letters have been left out of a word, as in ‘isn’t’ and ‘we’ll’. It is also added to nouns to show something belongs to someone, as in ‘Mike’s car’.
What is a possessive apostrophe?
An apostrophe can be used to show that one thing belongs to or is connected to something. This is called a possessive apostrophe or an apostrophe to show possession.
Let’s look at how it breaks down:
- You have a brother, and your brother has a room.
You could say:
- This room belongs to my brother.
But it is much easier to say:
- This is my brother’s room.
In this sentence, we use an apostrophe to create a possessive noun. This shows your brother has ‘ownership’ of the room.
Use an apostrophe when showing possession
When showing possession, add the apostrophe “s” (’s) to the “owner” word. If the plural of the word is formed by adding an “s” (for example, cats), place the apostrophe after the “s”. If the plural of the word is formed without adding an “s” (for example, children), add the apostrophe “s” (‘s) as you would to the singular form.
Examples:
- one table‘s leg or several tables‘ legs
- one student‘s name or several students‘ names
- one day‘s work or several days‘ work
- one woman‘s job or several women‘s jobs (note the plural form women does not use an “s”.
