2 Main Uses of Apostrophes:

1. To form a contraction:

don’t can’t

wouldn’t

2. To show possession

John’s car the boy’s bike

the workers’ contract

Main Use #1: Contraction

In a contraction, two words are combined into one shorter form.

you + are you’re

The apostrophe almost always marks where a letter or letters have been taken out to form the new word.

Think of a contraction as the result of two words having a head-on collision. During the collision, one or more letters get lost.

Look how the words do and not are joined to create don’t.

do + not

When the words collide, the o is ejected.

donot

The apostrophe goes to mark where the letter o has been

don’t

Common Contractions:

• aren’t = are not• can’t = can not• didn’t = did not• he’s = he is• I’d = I would, I had• it’s = it is

• let’s = let us• she’ll = she will• we’ve = we have• would’ve = would

have• you’re = you are

NOTE: The only contraction that doesn’t follow this rule is won’t, which means will not.

Main Use #2: Possession Possessives are words used to show ownership

or belonging. Like contractions, they’re also formed with the apostrophe.

Example: Professor Walker’s laptop

• the laptop belongs to Professor Walker• Professor Walker owns the laptop.

Notice that the apostrophe in possessive words does NOT stand for an omitted letter like it does in contractions.

__________________________

contraction: don’t (missing o)

possessive: dog’s tail (no missing letter, the tail belongs to

the dog)

2 rules for adding an apostrophe to form a possessive

1. If a word ends in –s already, add only the apostrophe:

The students’ backpacks were stolen from the classroom during the break.

2. If the word does not end in –s, add ’s:

The instructor’s parking permit was stolen.

ALERT:

Some words are possessive without the apostrophe. These words are the possessive pronouns:

my, mine its his

her, hers your, yours our, ours

their, theirs whose

Tip: Be careful not to confuse it’s and its.

it’s = it is

3 Other Uses for the Apostrophe

1)Used to indicate numbers that have been omitted.

1995 ‘95

2)Used to show missing letters in slang or informal speech

going goin’3)Can be used to form the plural of some

numbers or letters to prevent misreading. A’s 0’s (plural of zero) 1950s (NO apostrophe)

Test Your Understanding by Completing the Directed

Learning Activity

TIP:You may want to refer to this PowerPoint again while you’re completing the activity.