* Generally, genitive possession is indicated with just an -s at the end of a name or noun.

Beispiel:
Aschenputtels Stiefmutter

* When a name or noun ends with an s sound (i.e., spelled -s, -ss, -ß, -tz, -z, -x, -ce), genitive possession is indicated with just an apostrophe

Beispiel:
des Prinz' Ross

* Genitive possession is indicated with both an apostrophe and an -s

Example:
Cinderella's stepmother

* Example: The prince's steed

* Missing letters in contractions, slang, dialect, idiomatic expressions or poetic phrases are indicated with an apostrophe

Beispiele:
wie geht's? (wie geht es?)
ich hab' (ich habe)

* In some common contractions with definite articles, no apostrophe is used

Beispiele:
ins (in das)
zum (zu dem)

* Missing letters in contractions, slang, dialect, idiomatic expressions or poetic phrases are indicated with an apostrophe

Examples:
how's it going? (how is it ...?)
I've (I have)