Apostrophes often appear where they don’t belong — in a plural proper name, a possessive pronoun, and even in a verb. If you are guilty of these mistakes, keep reading because we’ll shed light on when you should (and shouldn’t) use this punctuation mark, including a free apostrophe checker.
What Is An Apostrophe?
An apostrophe, a punctuation mark, looks like a tiny comma floating above between two letters. And no, they do not appear for aesthetic reasons; instead, they appear because of contractions and possessions (more on these two below).
When to Use an Apostrophe?
As we’ve mentioned earlier in the introduction, apostrophes often appear where they don’t belong. Here are four situations where you should definitely use one.
Show Possession
The first situation where you should use an apostrophe is if your sentence includes a possessive noun.
For instance, if you want to show that John owns the notebook on the table, you could write:
John’s notebook is on the desk.
You add an apostrophe to the noun that owns something, then place it just before the thing owned.
Here’s another example: I borrowed Blake’s jacket for the trip.
Tip: What if the singular name ends in s? Should you still have an apostrophe and then the letter s? For academic style guides (APA, MLA, and Chicago), you should have both. But AP suggests adding just the apostrophe.
If the name is plural and already ends in s, place the apostrophe right after the s.
For example: The Harrisons’ house is on the corner.
In Contractions
A contraction is just two words squished into one. You drop one or more letters and place the apostrophe to show where those missing letters used to be.
Examples:
- Written out: She is already on her way.
- Contraction: She’s already on her way.
- Written out: Do not forget your keys.
- Contraction: Don’t forget your keys.
Tip: Not all words can be contracted. If you’re unsure, mentally expand the contraction. If it turns back into two words, the apostrophe belongs there.
Show Joint or Separate Possessions
Many people think that you should only have one apostrophe at the end of two names, but that’s not always the case.
For shared ownership, you only add an apostrophe and an s to the second name.
Sarah and Mike‘s apartment is downtown. (They share one place.)
But what if Sarah and Mike do not live in the same place? That’s a separate ownership, and each person gets their own apostrophe.
Sarah‘s and Mike‘s apartments are both downtown. (Two different places.)
With Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns are someone, anyone, everybody, or no one. And yes, they also need an apostrophe and letter s.
Examples:
- Someone’s phone is buzzing on the table.
- Everybody’s opinion matters in this discussion.
- Nobody’s perfect, and that’s kind of the point.
The key thing to remember? These words may feel plural, but grammatically, they’re treated as singular, which is why the apostrophe works the same way it does with singular nouns.
When Not to Use an Apostrophe?
You can skip the apostrophe if you run into these four things:
Transform a Noun to Plural
If you’re simply making a noun plural, you do not need an apostrophe. Adding ‘s doesn’t mean “more than one”, it means ownership. If you have a regular noun, stick to -s or -es.
Wrong:
The bakery sells fresh donut’s every morning.
Correct:
The bakery sells fresh donuts every morning.
If nothing “belongs” to the noun, the apostrophe has no job to do.
Tip: With irregular nouns, adding -s or -es is wrong. Depending on the word that you have, you might need to do a vowel change, and even completely change the spelling (like mouse and mice).
With Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns never use apostrophes. Even though they show ownership, they already do so on their own; no punctuation is required.
Wrong: The dog wagged it’s tail when it saw you.
Correct: The dog wagged its tail when it saw you.
Here’s a quick reference to keep things straight:
- I → my / mine
- That book is mine.
- You → your / yours
- Is this your jacket? The blue one is yours.
- He → his
- That’s his decision.
- She → hers
- The win was hers.
- It → its
- The cat licked its paws.
- They → their / theirs
- Their house is on the corner. That one is theirs.
- Who → whose
- Whose phone is ringing?
If you can replace the word with it is, who is, or you are, you need an apostrophe. If not, leave it out.
Numbers, Dates, and Acronyms
This is where apostrophes get wildly overused. When you’re dealing with years, numbers, symbols, or abbreviations, apostrophes usually stay out of it.
Wrong: Music from the 1990’s still feels iconic.
Correct: Music from the 1990s still feels iconic.
Use these rules to guide you:
- Time periods:
- Incorrect: The 1900’s
- Correct: The 1900s
- Plural numbers or items:
- Incorrect: MP3’s
- Correct: MP3s
- Abbreviations:
- Correct: CDs, DVDs, FAQs
- Symbols:
- Correct: #s, *s
The only real exception is single letters, where an apostrophe can help avoid confusion (like I’s instead of Is). Otherwise, plural means no apostrophe.
Free Apostrophe Checker
If you need an extra hand, this ChatGPT prompt can make sure that your essay, article, or story abides by punctuation rules:
You are an apostrophe checker. Your task is to go over my [essay/article/story] below and ensure proper apostrophe usage. Keep in mind that an apostrophe is used for contraction or to show possession.
[insert essay/article/story here] Tip: Need to check for other punctuation mistakes? Use our free punctuation checker.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it! Remember, you shouldn’t use an apostrophe if you’re not forming a contraction or expressing ownership. When in doubt, rewrite the sentence.