Apostrophes

Although the apostrophe has a number of uses and rules, the truth is that students just forget to put in obvious apostrophes to indicate possession. The only prevalent apostrophe rule students mess up on is apostrophes with nouns ending in "s." However, this isn't so easy to fix because the rule that governs this case is, itself, not definitive.

I. Apostrophes with Singular Nouns

You know you're supposed to add an " 's " to a singular noun. However, you should watch out for some special circumstances. Don't put an apostrophe in geographical or organizational names that suggest a possessive thought. There's no apostrophe in "Harpers Ferry" or "Citizens National Bank." Don't put an apostrophe with relative or personal pronouns. It's "hers," not "her's." It's "theirs," not "their's." And do watch out for the most common homonym/apostrophe error - the its/it's error. "It's" is "It is." "Its" shows possession. Singular nouns that end in "s" pose a problem. You can denote possession by adding just an apostrophe or by adding an " 's ." So it's either "Charles' " or "Charles's." The grammar books wimp out here, saying that you should write it as you say it. So if it sounds really stupid to add the additional " 's," then don't.

II. Apostrophes with Plural Nouns

Most of the time in English, plural nouns end in " s ," and you should denote possession by adding just an apostrophe: the dogs' kennel, the boats' keels. Those plural nouns not ending in " s " get and " 's " at their end: children's lunches, men's shoes.

III. Apostrophes with Compound Words

Put the " 's " after the last word of a compound expression: mother-in-law's. Follow this rule even when the compound is plural: mothers-in-law's.

IV. Apostrophes Indicating Joint or Separate Possession

If two people jointly possess something, then put the " 's " after the last person: Fred and Ethel's marriage. However, if both people possess it separately, then each gets an " 's ": Fred's and Desi's fishing gear.

V. Apostrophes with a Gerund

Although this rule does not always entail the use of a comma, I have repeated it here because it is an oft-broken rule.

Gerunds are verbs changed into nouns. However, they still retain some qualities of verbs. They can have subjects, but those subjects should be cast in the possessive case:

• Our being delayed upset their plans.
• Jim's writing the letter made a big difference.
• You can count on his messing up our plans.

A gerund is a process, and someone owns that process. That's how I understand the logic of this grammar rule.

VI. Apostrophes that indicate the Plural form of Letters, Figures, and Words used Out of Context

When used out of context, these symbol lose their normal meaning and become objects. We denote this by underlining or italicizing them:

• You have too many but's in this paragraph.
• When he didn't cross his t's, they looked like l's.

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