Apostrophes
When asked what the most common English usage error is, I don’t have to think hard. The “winning” mistake is the misuse of the apostrophe, especially with its/it’s.
First, let’s get rid of a myth: There is no such thing as its’. Why? Because its’ would be meaningless. If its’ existed, it would be indicating plural possession. First of all, it is always singular. Secondly, its without an apostrophe is the possessive form.
Example: The dog hurt its paw.
The word it’s is a contraction for it is.
Example: It’s a shame that the dog hurt its paw.
Now, we can look at more apostrophe rules.
Rule: To show possession by one person, use an apostrophe and then the s.
Examples:
girl’s hat (one girl who owns a hat)
girl’s hats (one girl who owns more than one hat)
woman’s dress (one woman who owns a dress)
woman’s dresses (one woman with more than one dress)
Rule: To show plural possession, make the noun plural first; then use the apostrophe.
Examples:
The girls’ hats flew off in the wind. (more than one girl, each with a hat)
The women’s dresses matched their shoes. (more than one woman, each with matching shoes)
Notice that women’s was not an exception. The noun was made plural first and then the apostrophe was used. The only difference is that the plural of woman doesn’t have an s so we must add it at the end.
Examples:
one boy’s book, two boys’ books
one man’s jacket, two men’s jackets
one lass’s hat, two lasses’ hats
February 26, 2007 at 3:24 pm
But what if the singular and plural of a word are the same? Such as with fish or deer or sheep. Is it “All the fish’s habitats?” or “All the fishs’ habitats” or “All the fishes’ habitats?”
February 26, 2007 at 3:35 pm
“Fish’s habitats” or “fishes’ habitats” would be correct because the plural of “fish,” as you note, is “fish” or “fishes.”
“Sheep’s wool” is the only answer for plural possessive since the only plural for “sheep” is “sheep.” Same with “deer.”
You will never see something like “fishs’” because there is no such word.
March 29, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Thank you for this page on the misuse of the apostrophe. I have to admit even at twenty two, I still have some bad habits. I finally now understand what we were being drilled about at school!
March 30, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Better late than never. I’m happy to read that apostrophes are making more sense now. Thanks for writing, Hannah.
April 16, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I’d like to point out one thing: the contraction for ‘it has’ is also represented by ‘it’s’. Compare:
Look at the car. It’s (= It has) got a broken windshield.
It’s (= It has) been snowing since yesterday.
Well, all I can suggest is making some small changes to the on-line book in the places where applicable.
April 16, 2007 at 9:59 pm
You’re right that “it’s” is also a contraction for “it has.” However, the first example you give of “It’s got a broken windshield” isn’t correct. “Has got” is not correct usage. So write “It has a broken windshield.” Your second example is just fine.
April 16, 2007 at 10:54 pm
I hate to disagree with you on that one point that the usage of ‘has got’ is incorrect, when used in a contraction. As far as I know, in British English you can use both ‘has’ and ‘has got’ meaning ‘to possess’, cf.
She has a brand new car.
She has got a brand new car.
She’s got a brand new car.
or with the meaning of ‘necessity/obligation’:
It has got to be finished by Friday.
It’s got to be finished by Friday.
I suppose the contraction of this kind is not so common in American English.
April 17, 2007 at 12:08 am
In American English, the expression is “has gotten,” not “has got” when you mean “has purchased.” Example: “She has gotten a brand new car.”
If you mean “to possess,” you would say, “She has a brand new car,” not “She has got a brand new car.”
April 17, 2007 at 5:27 am
I don’t have a copy of Word handy to check, but I wonder if it “fixes” the capitalization automatically resulting in at least some of the instances you see.
April 17, 2007 at 4:30 pm
No grammar or spell check program is completely reliable.
April 17, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Thanks a lot. Now I’ve come to know about another difference I didn’t have any idea about between British and American English. Next time I’ll check something up thoroughly before giving my personal opinion about it.
April 17, 2007 at 11:56 pm
You’re welcome, Engee.
April 20, 2007 at 10:10 pm
What is the actual and correct use of an apostrophe for the following statement:
The branch managers meeting will be held on Thursday?
April 20, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Todd, there are two answers. If you think of “branch managers” as part of the title, you would not need an apostrophe. If you think of “branch managers” as a description of the meeting, then you would write, “branch managers’ meeting.”
April 30, 2007 at 2:06 am
Are upwards, downwards, towards, etc., correct, or should it be upward, downward, toward, etc.?
Thank you.
April 30, 2007 at 5:29 pm
The “s” on all the words you ask about is optional. American English usage tends to leave off the “s” while British usage tends to add it.
May 8, 2008 at 11:22 am
What should the plural possessive be for deer? This was my answer:
Singular Possessive Plural Possessive
deer deer’s deers’
I got the Plural Possessive answer wrong. What did I miss?
May 8, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Since the plural of “deer” is still “deer,” you can’t add the “s” first for the plural possessive. So both the singular possessive and plural possessive of “deer” is “deer’s.”
July 9, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I just finished reading a novel in which an “apostrophe S” was added to show possession in names already ending in S, i.e., Chris’s. Is this a new rule or poor proofreading?
July 9, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Carol,
This is an option that some of us prefer. This note is from my site:
http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp Rule 2
NOTE: Although names ending in s or an s sound are not required to have the second s added in possessive form, it is preferred.
Mr. Jones’s golf clubs
Texas’s weather
Ms. Straus’s daughter
Jose Sanchez’s artwork
Dr. Hastings’s appointment (name is Hastings)
Mrs. Lees’s books (name is Lees)
September 8, 2008 at 7:08 pm
I found this example in my daughter’s (British) reading book this evening: “A monster’s got to do what a monster’s got to do!” I suppose this is correct but somehow it strikes me as odd. What do you think?
September 8, 2008 at 7:14 pm
“A monster’s got to do…” is correct. The apostrophe is for the contraction “A monster has got to do…”
June 7, 2010 at 6:30 am
when saying “This one is old”. Could this be correctly written as “This one’s old.”
If that is correct is that because it is a contraction, or can that only be written like that for “it is” (it’s)
June 7, 2010 at 3:31 pm
In informal writing, you may use contractions such as, “This one’s old.”