Apostrophes

The two jobs of an apostrophe

Job 1: missing letters (contraction). The apostrophe shows where letters were removed. Do not becomes don’t, it is becomes it’s, and they are becomes they’re.

Job 2: ownership (possession). The apostrophe shows that something belongs to someone. The teacher’s desk is the desk that belongs to the teacher. Where it goes depends on the owner:

• One owner: add apostrophe + s. The dog’s lead.
• Several owners, plural ends in s: add only the apostrophe. The dogs’ leads.
• Plural that does not end in s (children, women): add apostrophe + s. The children’s playground.

The apostrophe never makes a plural. Write two coffees, not two coffee’s, and the 1980s, not the 1980’s.

Why this small mark costs marks

Apostrophes are small, but markers see them straight away. A missing or misplaced one counts as an accuracy error. In ESL writing, correctness is marked directly.

A market sign saying fresh apple’s is the famous example of this mistake. It looks wrong because the s is only a plural.

The good news is that the rules are short and fixed, so this is one error you can remove completely.

Wrong and right

• Wrong: The two sister’s shared a room. Right: The two sisters shared a room. This is a plain plural, so no apostrophe.
• Wrong: Thats not what I meant. Right: That’s not what I meant. It is short for that is.
• Wrong: The bosses car was blocking the exit. Right: The boss’s car was blocking the exit. One owner ending in s still takes apostrophe + s.
• Wrong: All the students books were left behind. Right: All the students’ books were left behind. Several owners, plural ending in s.
• Wrong: The womens changing room was closed. Right: The women’s changing room was closed. Women does not end in s.

Test your eye

Correct the apostrophes in each sentence, then check below.

1. My parent’s house is near the childrens park.
2. The company lost three of it’s biggest clients.
3. Its going to rain, so bring the dog’s water bowl.
4. She sells fresh mango’s and papaya’s at the stall.
5. The James family car needs a wash.

Answers: (1) My parents’ house is near the children’s park. (Both parents own the house.) (2) The company lost three of its biggest clients. Its shows ownership, so no apostrophe. (3) It’s going to rain, so bring the dog’s water bowl. It’s means it is.

(4) She sells fresh mangoes and papayas at the stall. These are plain plurals. (5) The James family’s car needs a wash. The car belongs to the family.

Ask three questions

At every apostrophe, ask: is this a shortening, an ownership, or just a plural?

• Shortening: put the apostrophe where the letters are missing.
• Ownership: find the owner, check if it ends in s, then place the apostrophe.
• Plural only: use a plain s and no apostrophe.

Learn two pairs well: its / it’s and your / you’re. They cause many mistakes. Possessive pronouns (its, hers, ours, theirs, yours) never take an apostrophe.

When you proofread, check apostrophes in a separate pass.

Where students get stuck, and how we help

Students often add an apostrophe to every word ending in s, or leave it out of owner words. In our English as a Second Language lessons, a teacher marks every apostrophe in your own writing and shows which job it is doing.

Lessons start from RM70/hr. You can book a paid one-hour trial to see how it works.

Next step

Practise in our practice area and run the proofreading guide on your last piece of writing. Then read about its vs it’s and plurals and possessives.

Next, visit our original practice tasks to use the rule in your own writing. Our IGCSE English tuition page explains how lessons run. When you are ready, the paid one-hour trial is the first step.