Purpose
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to correctly use apostrophes for possession and contractions, including the trickiest possessive cases.Lesson Explanation
Apostrophes serve exactly two functions in standard English: showing possession, and marking a contraction. Confusing these two functions is a genuinely frequent error. Possession: for singular nouns, add “‘s”: “the dog’s bone.” For plural nouns already ending in “s,” add only an apostrophe: “the dogs’ bones” (multiple dogs). For plural nouns NOT ending in “s,” add “‘s” as with singular nouns: “the children’s toys.” A genuinely important, frequently confused case: singular nouns that already end in “s” (including many names) still typically take “‘s”: “James’s book,” “the boss’s office” — though some style guides allow just the apostrophe for names ending in “s” (“James’ book”), making “‘s” the more universally safe default. Contractions replace missing letters with an apostrophe: “do not → don’t,” “it is → it’s,” “they are → they’re.” The single most common apostrophe error in English involves confusing “it’s” (contraction of “it is” or “it has”) with “its” (the possessive form of “it,” with NO apostrophe): “It’s raining” (it is) versus “The dog wagged its tail” (possessive, no apostrophe) — this exception exists because possessive pronouns like “its,” “his,” “hers,” “ours,” and “theirs” never take an apostrophe, unlike possessive nouns. A related error is adding an apostrophe to make a plain plural: “I have two dog’s” is incorrect; “two dogs” needs no apostrophe at all, since it is simply plural, not possessive.Practice Questions
1. What two functions do apostrophes serve in standard English?
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Showing possession and marking a contraction.2. How do you show possession for a singular noun?
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Add “‘s.”3. How do you show possession for a plural noun already ending in “s”?
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Add only an apostrophe.4. Write the possessive of “dogs” (multiple dogs) owning something.
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Dogs’.5. How do you show possession for a plural noun NOT ending in “s,” like “children”?
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Add “‘s,” as with singular nouns.6. Write the possessive of “children.”
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Children’s.7. What is the safer default for a singular name already ending in “s,” like “James”?
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Add “‘s”: James’s.8. What does the contraction “it’s” stand for?
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“It is” or “it has.”9. Does the possessive form “its” take an apostrophe?
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No.10. Write “The dog wagged ___ tail,” choosing the correct possessive form.
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Its.11. Why do possessive pronouns like “its,” “his,” and “theirs” never take an apostrophe?
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Because they are possessive pronouns, not possessive nouns — a genuine exception to the noun-possessive rule.12. Is “I have two dog’s” correct?