English
How do you use apostrophes?
Quick answer
An apostrophe has two jobs. It shows where letters are missing in a contraction (can't, it's) and shows that something belongs to someone (the dog's bone, the girls' team).
In one sentence
An apostrophe (') is a raised comma used to show missing letters or to show that something belongs to someone.
Explained
Job 1: contraction (missing letters). When we squash two words together, the apostrophe sits exactly where letters have been left out.
- do not → don't (the o is missing)
- I am → I'm
- it is / it has → it's
- they are → they're
- we will → we'll
- will not → won't (an odd one, but still has the apostrophe)
Contractions sound natural in speech and stories. In formal writing, such as a science report, the full forms are often better.
Job 2: possession (belonging). The apostrophe shows that something belongs to someone or something.
- One owner: add 's. the cat's tail, Ada's coat, the bus's door
- More than one owner, plural ending in s: add just ' after the s. the cats' tails, the girls' changing room
- Plural not ending in s: add 's. the children's books, the men's race, the mice's nest
For names ending in s, both James's book and James' book are accepted; many schools teach James's because it matches how we say it.
The golden rule: an apostrophe is never used just to make a word plural. Two banana's is wrong; two bananas is right. See plurals.
Its or it's? This trips up adults too. It's always means it is or it has. Its means "belonging to it", like his and hers, which also have no apostrophe.
dog
cat
bowl
Examples
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| my brother's room | one brother |
| my brothers' room | two or more brothers |
| the women's team | plural not ending in s |
| It's raining. | It is raining. |
| The tree lost its leaves. | belonging to it |
Common mistakes
- Apostrophes in plurals. Pizza's £5 should be Pizzas £5.
- It's for its. Test it: if you can say it is, use it's.
- Putting it in the wrong gap. It is didn't, not did'nt.
- Their / there / they're mix-ups. These are homophones; only they're has an apostrophe.
Quick quiz
Apostrophes
Check what you know with 5 quick questions.
Question 1 of 5
What is the short form of do not?
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For grown-ups
Related topics
Plurals
A plural means more than one. Most nouns add -s (cats) or -es (boxes), but some change in other ways, like babies, leaves, mice and children.
Nouns
A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing or idea, such as teacher, Lagos, pencil or happiness.
Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun so you don't have to repeat it, such as he, she, it, they, we, me, mine or who.
Homophones
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and usually different spellings, like there, their and they're, or see and sea.
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes a noun, telling you what kind, which one or how many, like a huge elephant, a sour lemon or three red balloons.
Adverbs
An adverb gives more information about a verb, adjective or another adverb, telling how, when, where or how often, like slowly, tomorrow, outside or always.