Apostrophes
Apostrophes are one of the punctuation marks that many people seem to really struggle with. There are two main uses for apostrophes:
- To indicate possession (eg
- To indicate omission
One boy’s books - The books of one boy
Two boys’ books - The books of more than one boy
A woman’s rights - The rights of an individual woman
Women’s rights - The rights of (all) women
Common mistakes
Its or it’s?
it’s = it is its = of it |
This is the most common mistake people make about apostrophes – learn the rule, ‘it’s’ only needs an apostrophe if it means ‘it is’ not for the possessive.
Dates and some abbreviations
These represent plural nouns which are not possessors and so never need apostrophes.
Examples:
1960s GPs, MPs DVDs, CDs, MOTs |
Source: The University of Hull (UK)