Apostrophes: Simple Steps to Better English

By Chris Livingstone

Apostrophes are probably the most misused punctuation marks in English and you do not have to look far to see examples of incorrect usage.

Should you use ’s or s’? Or should you leave out the apostrophe altogether?

Then there’s the very common problem of “its”. Do you use “it’s” or “its”? With or without an apostrophe?

This misuse, or abuse, of apostrophes is a problem for many people, not just for newcomers to English but also for many people whose English skills are otherwise reasonably good. This particular grammatical problem afflicts people with all levels of education and in all positions in society. You'll find apostrophes used incorrectly in university papers and shop signs, in business reports and plumbers’ invoices. Even journalists, and others who write for a living, are not immune.

This little book is devoted purely to the apostrophe, a tiny punctuation mark which usually occupies less than a page in most books on English grammar. This booklet covers when and where you should use apostrophes and also where you shouldn’t, with plenty of examples and explanations. No matter who you are, if you ever have trouble working with apostrophes then this little book will help.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chris Livingstone
• Release date: Jan 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311338600

Chris Livingstone

I have spent much of my working life as a teacher, initially at secondary level then at tertiary level. I also spent many years devising and delivering courses for adults. I still love teaching although these days it’s on a much more informal level. I've done a lot of writing over the years, mainly curriculum and technical stuff, and I've developed a reputation for being able to deliver material in a way which is both easy to read and easy to understand. I’m also known as a bit of a pedant with a concern for detail and facts. While friends can find this a little excessive, even annoying, my attention to detail does make me a good proofreader and editor. It also puts me in a good position to produce a little book about such a ubiquitous grammatical error as the apostrophe.

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Apostrophes: Simple steps to better English

By Chris Livingstone

Copyright 2014 Chris Livingstone

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Table of Contents

Simple steps to better English

What you will find in this booklet

Introduction

The apostrophe

Why use apostrophes?

The problem of its

Contractions

Possessives

Possessives of plural nouns

When not to use apostrophes

Summary

In conclusion

About the author

Apostrophes

Simple steps to better English

The apostrophe is just one tiny character in the English language, a tiny little symbol. Nevertheless, it causes a lot of trouble for many people. This booklet has just one purpose: to help people master this small but very significant problem for so many people writing English.

Who will find this little book useful?

If you can’t decide whether to use ’s or s’ (or neither), if you can’t remember whether to use its or it’s, if you get muddled up between plurals and possessives then this booklet should help you. Whether you’re a signwriter or a psychiatrist, a secretary or a scientist, if you have a problem with apostrophes, or just want to check that you’re getting it right, then this will help you.

It doesn’t matter if you’re just putting up a little sign, sending an e-mail to a colleague, printing a newsletter for your hockey team, writing a thesis for your university, or producing a report for the nation – apostrophes matter, and like it or not, someone will notice if you muck up an apostrophe.

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What you will find in this booklet

An introduction

So many people find apostrophes a real pain. They often ask themselves: do I have to use an apostrophe here? If so, where do I put it? This booklet is built on notes I wrote for someone who was always asking these questions.

No matter what your education, your job, your background, whether you started off speaking English or learnt it later in life, you can master apostrophes. It’s a skill, just like riding a bike. And like riding a bike, once you’ve got the hang of apostrophes you'll have that skill for the rest of your life.

Why do we need apostrophes?

Apostrophes aren’t just there to annoy people, to make life difficult for some and make other people feel superior. Apostrophes serve a real purpose. That’s what we’ll cover in detail in the pages that follow.

Contractions

First of all, apostrophes are used to show contractions. A contraction is simply a shortening of a couple of words like writing isn’t instead of is not.

Possessives

Secondly, we use apostrophes to show possession, to show that something belongs to someone or something. When we say "Maria’s coat" we mean the coat which belongs to Maria.

Its

Apostrophes are used either for contractions or to show possession.

But there’s one word which can be either a contraction or a possessive: that’s the word its.

Its (or it’s) is a real problem for many people. Even journalists who write full-time for a living get it wrong sometimes. It’s such a problem that I’ve devoted a whole section just to this one word before moving onto contractions and possession.

When not to use apostrophes

The only thing worse than people not using apostrophes when they should is people using apostrophes when they shouldn’t. There are some common mistakes which many people make and I’ll make this clear in this section.

Summary

At the end of this booklet, you’ll find a short summary of the rules.