Apostrophe Rules

1. The apostrophe indicates that a number or a letter has been omitted:

   it is = it’s	‘65 = 1965
   does not = doesn’t	‘90 = 1990

2. Apostrophes are also used to show possession orownership. The apostrophe follows the noun that is owning something.Apostrophes can be troublesome when we need to think about singular nouns vs. plural nouns.

Singular Nouns (not ending with -s)

Singular Nouns (ending with -s)

Plural Nouns (not ending with -s)

Plural Nouns (ending with -s)

Additional Notes

1. The following pronouns are already possessive and do not require apostrophes: yours, ours, its, theirs, his, hers, and whose.

2. Usually, "of" is used to show possession for non-living things: the walls of the room, the color of your pants. Money and time words are exceptions: one week’s vacation, four dollars’ worth.

3. Sometimes you may see a short word, like James, written with an s after the apostrophe. This is not incorrect; it is only a variation. Weadvise that you stick to the commonly used system in this web document.