Apostrophes
1. If singular noun, add ’s
to make it possessive
Mistake: It was Johns’ turn to take the kids to
school.
2. Possessive forms of pronouns don’t take
apostrophes because they are already possessive.
Mistake: The boat is their’s.
*The
possessive form of who is “whose.”
Who’s=“who is.”
*The
possessive form of it is “its.” It’s=it
is.
Mistake: The man, who’s name
is Mike, will donate.
Mistake: Give the cat it’s
toy.
3. To make a plural noun possessive, add an
apostrophe.
Mistake: The horses stalls
were filthy.
*If
the plural noun doesn’t end in s, add ’s.
Mistake: The peoples’ decision was to recall the
governor.
4. An apostrophe can also indicate removal of
letters.
Don’t,
Isn’t, Didn’t:
the “o” in “not” has been removed.