Apostrophes: Basic Rules

Apostrophes are punctuation marks that are primarily used to show possession and to indicate missing letters in a contracted word.

Examples of Apostrophes

Rules for Apostrophes that Show Possession

To show possession of a singular noun, simply place an apostrophe and an -s to the end of the word: Tyrone‘s bicycle, the pencil‘s eraser, the dog‘s collar ‍ To show possession of a plural noun that already ends with an -s, simply place an apostrophe at the end of the word: four cats litter boxes, two babies cribs, three teachers gradebooks ‍ To show possession of a plural noun that does not end with an -s, simply place an apostrophe and an -s at the end of the word: two women‘s notebooks, four children‘s crayons, three geese‘s feathers

Rules for Apostrophes to Indicate Missing Letters

An apostrophe is used to indicate the placement of missing letters in a contracted word: cannot > can’t
do not > don’t
I will > I’ll
is not > isn’t

Plural Forms of Letters and Numbers

An apostrophe is used to form the plural of a number or letter. Mind your p’s and q’s.
There are two 7’s in my phone number.
She received all A’s on her report card.

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Apostrophes Basic Rules Worksheet

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