when do you use an apostrophe when writing?

Question

ok, im writing my essay at the moment and every time i use an apostrophe word programme high lights it in green, symbolising that i have use the puncuation wrongly..

but am i wrong or is the word program wrong?

i have looked in the Oxford dictionary but it doesnt explain how to use it.. so have come on to y/a for some help

so can anyone tell me the correct way to use an apostrophe???
thanks.

Answer 1

You never use an apostrophe in plurals (more than one thing). So e.g. pizza's, boy's etc. to show there is more than one of them is wrong.

You use it to a) show possession/ownership:

The girl's bike (the bike that belongs to the girl);

and for plural words or words that end in 's':

The girls' bikes (bikes belonging to the girls); Chris' bike (OR it is also correct to say Chris's bike, but perhaps less common);

and b) to indicate missing letters: does not > doesn't; will not > won't etc. The apostrophe goes where the letters have been removed.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

It's perhaps being highlighted if you've placed a space in between the letter and the apostrophe.



An apostrophe is used in two different ways - as a contraction where it replaces the missing letters or to show possession. It is NEVER used with an S for use as a plural.



Examples -



CONTRACTIONS when two words are blended into one.



It is a nice day ---- It's a nice day.

You are welcome --- You're welcome.

They are over there --- They're over there.



POSSESSION



The apostrophe and the S always comes at the end of the name.

The book belongs to Sarah ---- it's Sarah's book.

Thurday will be Simon's birthday.

I am wearing Tom's hat.



Now, if the word that 'owns' the item already ends in an S then the rule is the same - add the apostrophe and S but it's acceptable to just add the apostrophe so it looks neater.



The house belongs to Mr Jones ---- It's Mr Jones's house or It's Mr Jones' house.

Both are acceptable, the 2nd is neater.



The disciples of Jesus - Jesus' disciples.



The apostrophe is NOT used to show more than one or a plural.

eg.,

The rattles belong to the baby would be the baby's rattles - There is 1 baby here who owns lots of rattles. DO NOT write rattle's - that is wrong. The rattle does not own anything. It has an S because there is more than 1.

But if the rattle was making a noise then you could use an apostrophe to say 'the rattle's noisy' but here it's a contraction since you've blended 'rattle' and 'is' (The rattle is noisy).

The baby's rattle's noisy. (The rattle belonging to the baby is noisy)



However, if there is more than one baby then you have to apply the spelling rule 'change the y into an i and add es' to spell the plural of babies correctly before adding any punctuation.



1 baby = baby

more than 1 baby = babies



Now that you have the correct spelling then the punctuation is easy.

The baby's rattles. (And rattles does not have an apostrophe as it is plural and nothing to do with ownership)

The babies' rattles. (Rattles that belong to more than 1 baby.)



The boy's toys (Toys that belong to 1 boy only)

The boys' toys (Toys that belong to many boys)



The girl's make up (Make up of 1 girl)

The girls' make up (make up of more than 1 girl)



In the above examples I have followed the 'apostrophe then S' rule but left out the S since the plural words already end in S and it's neater with just the apostrophe.



Does that help in any way? Once you get it then it's easy. Don't go adding apostrophes just because you see an S. Only 2 times you need an apostrophe - contractions and possession NOT plurals.



Good luck!

Answer 3

Skillswise Apostrophes

Answer 4

1

Answer 5

I don't know whether the program is haywire, but I can give you the apostrophe rules.



There are two uses of the apostrophe:



1.....Apostrophe of omission. Where one or more letters are omitted, use one to mark the spot: can't, I'll, etc. There are one or two oddities like won't and shan't, which must be learned, but basically that's the rule for omission.



2.....Apostrophe of possession: to show ownership or similar relations. The apostrophe comes before the s which shows possession (the girl's bag, the cat's whiskers, the men's shoes) except where a plural ends in s, when the apostrophe follows the s (the dogs' bones, the teachers' nightmares). The only exception is the possessive its (= of it: e.g. The car burst its tyre) which does not take an apostrophe.



And that's all there is to it. Observe these simple little rules and few, never use an apostrophe anywhere else, and you'll be fine.

Answer 6

No apostrophe. An apostrophe shows that something has been skipped over from a be conscious. An unnecessary apostrophe, along with in one hundred's, is prevalent contained in the united kingdom as a "Greengrocer's Apostrophe", by using their habit of writing "apple's £a million in accordance to kilo".

Answer 7

Most of the answers have correctly identified the two uses of an apostrophe:

1. to indicate possession; and

2. to indicate missing letters.

However, if you are writing an essay then the second use is irrelevant as you should not be using the informal shortened versions such as can't or doesn't. You should use formal language in essays (unless you are quoting someone who has used them) i.e cannot or does not. As such, you only need worry about its possessive role. The basic rules are:

1. singular possessive - the apostrophe precedes the "s", e.g. the dog's bone; and

2. plural possessive - the apostrophe follows the "s", e.g. the parents' child.

One thing to be wary of is that where "its" is used as a possessive then there is no apostrophe, i.e. the house had not been looked after, its garden was overgrown and the house needed to be repainted.

Answer 8

An apostrophe is used to replace a letter or letters. For example in your detail quoted "ok, im......you should have written I'm or I am. The apostrophe replaces the letter a. He's cleaning the car while she's doing the ironing could be written as He is cleaning the car while she is doing the ironing. I also note that you are not using i in upper case. I'm afraid (there I've used the apostrophe correctly - I've could have written I have). The apostrophe replaced ha in have if you're writing an essay every sentence begins with a capital letter and i should be written as I when referring to yourself.



Hope this helps. I'm (I am) afriaid I can't (cannot) answer the rest of your question but I hope the examples given will help you.

Answer 9

The Apostrophe Select from the followingGUIDE Home PageINDEXPrinciples of CompositionQUIZZESSentence Parts and Functions. . . . adjectives. . . . adverbs. . . . conjunctions. . . . determiners. . . . interjections. . . . nouns. . . . objects. . . . prepositions. . . . pronouns. . . . subjects. . . . verbsAbbreviationsArticles and DeterminersAuxiliary VerbsBw 2 Independent ClausesCapitalizationCases -- of pronounsClauses -- Essential Bldg BlocksCompositionCompound Nouns and ModifiersConcise SentencesConfusable WordsConfusion -- Sources, RemediesDiagramming SentencesEssay TypesFragmentsFrequently Asked QuestionsGrammarlogs -- answersGrammarPollItalics and UnderliningModifier PlacementObjects -- dir., indirectParagraph DevelopmentParallel StructuresPassive vs Active VoicePhrasesPlague Words & PhrasesPluralsPossessivesPrimer LanguagePronouns, Antcdnt AgrmntPUNCTUATION. . . . apostrophes. . . . brackets. . . . colons. . . . commas. . . . dashes. . . . ellipses. . . . exclamation marks. . . . hyphens. . . . parentheses. . . . periods. . . . question marks. . . . quotation marks. . . . semicolons. . . . slashesPowerpoint PresentationsRun-on SentencesSearch EngineSentence CombiningSentence Variety and TypesSpelling Rules and QuizzesSubjectsSubject-Verb AgreementTense SequenceTransitions, CoherenceUnbiased LanguageUsing Numbers, Making ListsVerbs and VerbalsVocabulary Builders WebCT Users:

If you discover an apostrophe "problem icon" — — embedded in your text, that could mean that you have a problem with a contraction (see below) or a possessive form.



If your computer is equipped with PowerPoint, click on the PowerPoint icon to the right for a brief PowerPoint presentation on the uses of the apostrophe.

Click HERE for help with Powerpoint.







We use an apostrophe [ ’ ] to create possessive forms, contractions, and some plurals (see below). The apostrophe shows where a letter or letters have been left out of a contracted verb:



I am = I'm you are = you're she is = she's it is = it's

do not = don't she would = she'd he would have = he would've

let us = let's who is = who's she will = she'll they had = they'd





Whether or not contractions are appropriate in academic prose is a matter of personal taste and debate. See the section on Tone for a discussion of contractions. Also, ask your instructor before using contractions in a paper that will be graded.



This Guide has an entire section devoted to a description of possessives. You can click HERE to go to that section (and accompanying quizzes) or read this summary.



In possessives, the placement of the apostrophe depends on whether the noun that shows possession is singular or plural. Generally, if the noun is singular, the apostrophe goes before the s. The witch's broom. If the noun is plural, the apostrophe goes after the s: The witches' brooms. However, if the word is pluralized without an s, the apostrophe comes before the s: He entered the men's room with an armload of children's clothing. If you create a possessive with a phrase like of the witches, you will use no apostrophe: the brooms of the witches.









Remember that it's means it is or it has. Confusing it's with its, the possessive of it, is perhaps the most common error in writing. Remember, too, that there is no appropriate contraction for "there are." Don't confuse "they're," which means "they are" with "there are" (which can sound like "ther're," [or some such set of rumbling r's] in casual speech).



An apostrophe is also used to form some plurals, especially the plural of letters and digits. Raoul got four A's last term and his sister got four 6's in the ice-skating competition. This is particularly useful when the letter being pluralized is in the lower case: "minding one's p's and q's" or "Don't forget to dot your i's." (In a context in which the plural is clear, apostrophes after upper-case letters are not necessary: "He got four As, two Bs, and three Cs.") It is no longer considered necessary or even correct to create the plural of years or decades or abbreviations with an apostrophe:



He wrote several novels during the 1930s.

There are fifteen PhDs on our faculty.

My sister and I have identical IQs.

(If you wrote Ph.D. with periods, you would add an apostrophe before the pluralizing "s": Ph.D.'s) If the abbreviation or acronym ends in "S," it's a good idea to separate this final "S" from the pluralizing "s" with an apostrophe: SOS's



Quizzes on Punctuation Marks

period || question mark || exclamation mark || colon || semicolon || hyphen || dash

parentheses || brackets || ellipsis || quotation marks || comma || slash









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Answer 10

use an apostrophe for two different occasions.

1--write any noun e.g. London( a place name). add apostrophe then letter s.

word now becomes London's.

this means belonging to London.



2--when you join two words together. such as -

you are. it becomes you're.

this bit is quite detailed in explanation.

say to your self (-you are-).either word or even both words can be emphasised.

such as-YOU are,you ARE or YOU ARE.

when you use -you're, it is not emphasised.

it is what you say after this that is emphasised. such as -- (you're BEAUTIFUL).



so you use the apostrophe to show the meaning you are putting across in writing,



there are different ways of saying this.



you are beautiful

YOU, are beautiful

YOU ARE ,beautiful

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL

you, ARE, beautiful

you ARE, BEAUTIFUL

note placing of the comma gives each a different emphasis



all the same words but each saying has a slightly different message.



using the apostrophe cuts the sentiment down.



you're BEAUTIFUL



as you can see apostrophes can be misused and give the wrong meaning to what you are trying put across to the reader.



i know this is very long and wordy but if it helps you then it has been worth the effort

Answer 11

The rules for apostrophes vary with the type of word. Learn where to put apostrophes so that your writing is clear and correct. In short, apostrophes are frequently used to indicate possession and in contractions, but generally not to pluralize.



Please visit this site http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Apostrophes

for the detailed Steps and Tips and more.

Answer 12

It depends what you are writing. There are contractions, such as they are - they're or is not - isn't. There are also possessive apostrophies - It was Jenny's bike. The cakes were the students' coursework. Go to the BBC website and click on Skillswise. You will be able to work through some examples.

Answer 13

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Answer 14

2

Answer 15

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Answer 16

when you have a contracted word(two words together ie haven't), or when you shorten up a word like, eve'nin'. used the punctuation 'wrongly'? hmm

Answer 17

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