3.3 Apostrophes

3.3 Apostrophes

The apostrophe (') serves two primary functions in the English language: it indicates possession (ownership) and it forms contractions (omitted letters). On the PERT Writing test, apostrophe errors are incredibly common, especially regarding the confusion between plural nouns and possessive nouns, or possessive pronouns and contractions.

1. Apostrophes for Possession

Apostrophes demonstrate that a noun owns something. The rules for forming possessives depend on whether the noun is singular or plural, and whether it ends in the letter s.

Singular Nouns: To form the possessive of a singular noun, add an apostrophe followed by an s ('s). This applies even if the singular noun ends in an s (like boss or James), though some style guides allow just an apostrophe for names ending in s. For the PERT, adding 's to singular nouns ending in s is the safest approach.

• Correct: The student's backpack was heavy. (One student owns the backpack).
• Correct: The boss's instructions were clear. (One boss owns the instructions).
• Correct: Charles's car is parked outside. (Charles owns the car).

Plural Nouns Ending in 's': To form the possessive of a plural noun that already ends in s (which is the vast majority of English plurals), add only an apostrophe after the s (s'). Do not add another s.

• Correct: The students' backpacks were heavy. (Multiple students own the backpacks).
• Correct: The teachers' lounge is closed for renovations. (Multiple teachers own the lounge).
• Correct: The dogs' leashes were tangled. (Multiple dogs own the leashes).

Plural Nouns NOT Ending in 's': A few English words have irregular plural forms that do not end in s (e.g., children, men, women, people, mice). To form the possessive of these plural nouns, treat them like singular nouns and add an apostrophe followed by an s ('s).

• Correct: The children's toys were scattered across the floor.
• Correct: The women's basketball team won the championship.

Joint vs. Individual Possession: When two or more people own something together, add the apostrophe to the final name only (joint possession). If they own separate items, add an apostrophe to each name (individual possession).

• Joint Possession: Alex and Sarah's house is beautiful. (They share one house).
• Individual Possession: Alex's and Sarah's houses are beautiful. (They each own a separate house).

2. Apostrophes for Contractions

Contractions are words formed by combining two words and omitting one or more letters. The apostrophe is placed exactly where the letters have been removed.

• cannot becomes can't
• do not becomes don't
• I am becomes I'm
• they are becomes they're
• it is becomes it's

While contractions are generally discouraged in highly formal academic writing, they are grammatically correct and appear frequently on exams. You must ensure the apostrophe is placed correctly to indicate the missing letters.

3. The Big Trap: Possessive Pronouns vs. Contractions

The most frequent apostrophe errors involve confusing possessive pronouns with contractions that sound exactly the same (homophones). This is a guaranteed topic on the PERT.

Rule to remember: Possessive pronouns (like yours, hers, ours, theirs, whose, its) NEVER take an apostrophe.

Its vs. It's

• Its (no apostrophe) is a possessive pronoun meaning "belonging to it."
  • Correct: The dog wagged its tail.
• It's (with apostrophe) is a contraction for "it is" or "it has."
  • Correct: It's going to rain tomorrow. (It is)

Their vs. They're vs. There

• Their (no apostrophe) is a possessive pronoun meaning "belonging to them."
  • Correct: Their presentation was excellent.
• They're (with apostrophe) is a contraction for "they are."
  • Correct: They're presenting their project tomorrow.
• There refers to a place or is used to introduce a sentence.
  • Correct: Place the box over there.

Whose vs. Who's

• Whose is a possessive pronoun indicating ownership.
  • Correct: Whose jacket is this?
• Who's is a contraction for "who is" or "who has."
  • Correct: Who's going to the conference? (Who is)

Your vs. You're

• Your is a possessive pronoun.
  • Correct: Did you forget your umbrella?
• You're is a contraction for "you are."
  • Correct: You're going to be late.

To test which word you need, try expanding the contraction. If you can substitute "it is," you need it's. If "it is" doesn't make sense, you need its.

4. Plurals of Letters and Numbers

Generally, you do not use apostrophes to make words plural (e.g., apple's is incorrect for the plural of apple). However, you should use an apostrophe to form the plural of single, lowercase letters to avoid confusion.

• Correct: Be sure to dot your i's and cross your t's. (Without the apostrophe, "is" looks like the verb).

For capital letters, numbers, and acronyms, an apostrophe is typically not needed for plurals in modern style guides.

• Correct: She received three As on her report card.
• Correct: The music of the 1980s is experiencing a revival.
• Correct: They purchased two new CDs. (Though "CD's" was formerly common, "CDs" is now preferred).