Why apostrophe s

There are conflicting policies and theories about how to show possession when writing such nouns. There is no right answer; the best advice is to choose a formula and stay consistent. Rule 1c. Some writers and editors add only an apostrophe to all nouns ending in s. Note: We sometimes hear that an inanimate object cannot possess, e. Care must be taken to place the apostrophe outside the word in question.

For instance, if talking about a pen belonging to Mr. Hastings, many people would wrongly write Mr. A widely used technique favored for its simplicity is to write the word as we would speak it. For example, since most people saying "Mr.

Rule 2. Using an apostrophe to show plural possession. Rule 2a. Regular nouns are nouns that form their plurals by adding either the letter s or es guy, guys; letter, letters; actress, actresses; etc. To show plural possession, simply put an apostrophe after the s. Rule 2b. Correct: Apostrophes are confusing. In special cases, such as when forming a plural of a word that is not normally a noun, some writers add an apostrophe for clarity. In that sentence, the verb do is used as a plural noun, and the apostrophe was added because the writer felt that dos was confusing.

Imagine the confusion if you wrote that sentence without apostrophes. Readers would see as and us , and feel lost. Rule 2c. English also has many irregular nouns child, nucleus, tooth , etc. These nouns become plural by changing their spelling, sometimes becoming quite different words. Rule 2d. Things can get really confusing with the possessive plurals of proper names ending in s , ch , z , such as Hastings , Jones , Birch , and Sanchez.

Most would call them the "Hastings. The plural of Hastings is Hastingses. The members of the Birch family are the Birches. Rule 2e. Never use an apostrophe to make a name plural. Correct: The Wilsons are here.

Correct: We visited the Sanchezes. For a full list of the standard contractions, follow this link. Some common contractions are shown below. Avoid the apostrophe to mark possession with pronouns A very common mistake is to place an apostrophe in the possessive form of pronouns like its, yours, hers, ours, theirs.

Although this makes perfect sense, it is considered wrong. May I borrow yours? In a contraction, an apostrophe represents missing letters. Grammarly can save you from misspellings, grammatical and punctuation mistakes, and other writing issues on all your favorite websites. Some writers use less common contractions when they want to represent a particular style of speech.

Contractions are usually considered to be relatively casual. The rules about forming possessives probably cause the most apostrophe confusion. They vary a little bit, depending on what type of noun you are making into a possessive. Here are the rules of thumb:. Style guides vary in their recommendations of what to do when you have a singular proper noun that ends in s. Use whichever style matches the style guide you use for your writing.

Personal pronouns, unlike regular nouns, do not use apostrophes to form possessives. The relative possessive pronoun whose is also frequently the victim of apostrophe abuse.