How to use an apostrophe | Also, you’ve been lied to
How to use an apostrophe
When I say “fun fact!” it’s definitely subjective… but fun fact! The term possessive is misleading when it comes to apostrophes—and I say that as a Brit, even though it was pointed out in Merriam Webster. (Insert the shade noise from Rupaul’s drag race or something.)
It’s actually just the genitive case, but around the 18th century it was renamed the possessive case… which isn’t quite right. Today’s climate isn’t owned by today anymore than Rebecca’s English class is owned by Rebecca.
Beyond that big lie, there’s also the fact that some writers hate them—George Bernard Shaw was one of them. He actually refused to use them most words and referred to them as “uncouth bacilli”.
I don’t hate anything and taking a stance against punctuation strikes me as a little pretentious, but I guess writers and creatives need to measure somehow. Hey, here we are. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So sure, apostrophes can be tricky—but don’t let them get the better of you. There are just a few uses for them:
to indicate the genitive case (possessive or not)
to indicate a contraction
for stylistic reasons
In plainspeak, genitive means we’re indicating a relationship. Today’s climate means the climate of today. Peter’s dog is the dog owned by Peter. A guys’ night out is the night out of the guys.
Use an apostrophe to indicate a contraction
Top tip: Contractions help you achieve a more human voice, quite literally because they read more like how we actually talk. Use an apostrophe in place of the dropped letter:
Can’t
Couldn’t
It’s
There’s
Mac ‘n’ cheese
Won’t
Not wont as that’s an archaic noun for practice or custom
Would’ve
True story, I used to think it was "would of” when I was a kid
The ‘90s were great
Because we’ve dropped the 19
Some contractions are tricky to spell, though. My solution is normally to avoid using them at all, but that’s not really a solution so much as a kind of style preference. Even so, here’s the biggest offender:
Li’l is the generally accepted spelling of little when it’s contracted, but as you can see there is no apostrophe for the missing e.
Use an apostrophe to indicate the genitive case
For singular and plural nouns not ending s, add an ‘s at the end of the word.
This guy’s face was unreal
These women’s faces were unreal too
Plural nouns ending in s or es just take an apostrophe at the end of the word.
The cats’ favorite treat was fish.
“Cat’s” means one cat.
The horses’ stable was huge.
It was a girls’ night out.
“Girl’s night” implies one girl
Plural nouns that are irregular—oxen, bacilli, and others—are case-by-case. Generally, you’ll find ‘s will work, but check the original spelling of the plural. E.g. It’s the oxen’s fault, not the oxens’ or oxens’s fault because the plural of ox is oxen.
For singular proper nouns that end in an s sound, the generally accepted rule is to write the word as you would speak it.
Mr Hastings’ book then became Mr Jones’s.
But singular proper nouns are “correct” with simply ‘s added to the end, whether you pronounce that s or not. I’ve used inverted commas since language is fluid; what’s “correct” is often not so black and white—some prefer to only add ‘s where it’s not awkward to pronounce it, otherwise they drop the s.
I prefer to add ‘s in all cases to have some sense of uniform. However, I would recommend rephrasing to avoid this when it feels awkward. And so:
Las Vegas’s nightlife is wild.
The nightlife in Las Vegas is wild.
New Orleans’s music scene is great.
The music scene of New Orleans is great.
Des Moines’s nightlife is a mystery to me.
The nightlife of Des Moines is a mystery to me.
Mr Hastings’s book was finished.
Mr Hastings had not finished his book.
Mr Jones’s book was lost.
Mr Jones lost his book.
Acronyms should use the same rules as singular nouns
The TV’s picture quality was terrible
Use one apostrophe when nouns form their plurals by adding either the letter s or -es (guy, guys; letter, letters; actress, actresses; etc.).
Guys' night out (guy's night out implies only one guy)
Odd cases that can cause confusion or errors
This is likely what causes most folks confusion, leading to the infamous “Grocer’s apostrophe”. (Props to those folks that carry a Sharpie and correct them, vigilante style.) There are some plurals that crop up which don’t require an apostrophe, but would nonetheless look confusing or strange without one—but mind yourself, because banana’s isn’t one of them.
Don’t use an apostrophe to make nouns or names plural—this is often the mistake that leads to a “Grocer’s apostrophe”.
Horses are great, not horse’s are great.
Cats are great, not cat’s are great too.
The Joneses are great, not the Jones’s are great too.
Don’t add an apostrophe to indicate the genitive case for personal pronouns.
It’s hers.
Not her’s.
Whose are these?
Not who’s.
But “who’s next” is correct because it’s a contraction.
Do use an apostrophe on plural nouns to avoid confusion, e.g., the do’s and don’ts of using an apostrophe
Not the dos and don’ts or the do’s and don’t’s
Do use an apostrophe when referring to plural letters to avoid confusion, e.g., do you dot your t’s and cross your i’s?
Plural letters are one exception where you do add an apostrophe
