Title: READ: Apostrophe
Course: English 9 (B)

Apostrophe

The apostrophe is a punctuation mark. In English it has two main functions: it marks omissions, and it assists in marking the possessives of nouns and some pronouns. Below are some examples:

Apostrophe showing possession:
- Jim's hair - the hair belonging to Jim
- cat's whiskers - the whiskers belonging to the cat
- sister's car - car belonging to the sister
- Mr. Jones's house - the house belonging to Mr. Jones

Exceptions - Do not use the apostrophe for possessive pronouns. For example:

Correct
- The group brought its van.
- The book is hers.
- The book is Jim's.

Incorrect
- The group brought it's van.
- It is his' book.
- Its going to be a long day.

Apostrophe showing omission:
- Can't - from cannot
- I'll - from I will
- It's - from it is
- '70s - from 1970s
- 'twas - from it was
- gov't - from government

The following video explains the proper use of apostrophes: