MEPX
Chapter 7 of 13All chapters
  1. 1Parts of speech
  2. 2Sentences and fragments
  3. 3Subject and verb agreement
  4. 4Tenses
  5. 5Lie and lay
  6. 6Pronouns
  7. 7Apostrophes
  8. 8Sound alike pairs
  9. 9Fewer and less
  10. 10Plurals
  11. 11Commas
  12. 12Other punctuation
  13. 13Active and passive

Chapter 7 of 13

Apostrophes

Possession and contraction, never plurals.

The two jobs

An apostrophe marks a missing letter or shows possession. It never makes a plural, which is why a sign selling apple’s is wrong.

  • One team owning results gives the team’s results. Several teams gives the teams’ results.
  • Names ending in s still take ’s in most style guides: James’s car.

Its and it’s

Its shows possession and it’s is only ever it is or it has. The trick is that possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe: his, hers, ours, theirs and its.