Use an apostrophe to show possession or mark missing letters or digits. At a community garden, you might see three gardeners, borrow one gardener’s shovel, or visit the gardeners’ shed. The first phrase counts people. In the other two, the apostrophe tells you whether the thing belongs to one gardener or to several. In we’re, the apostrophe marks a missing letter in we are.
Apostrophe rules at a glance
| What you mean | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Possession with a singular noun | Add ’s. | the gardener’s shovel |
| Possession with a plural ending in s | Add an apostrophe after the s. | the gardeners’ shed |
| Possession with a plural such as children | Add ’s when the plural ends in another letter. | the children’s garden |
| A contraction | Use an apostrophe in place of missing letters. | we’re = we are |
| An ordinary plural | Use the plural form by itself. | gardeners, shovels, children |
How to show possession
First, find the noun that names the owner or shows the relationship. Write that noun in the singular or plural, then add the possessive ending. In the gardeners’ shed, gardeners is already plural before the apostrophe goes on. The number of sheds has no effect on the spelling of gardeners’.
Singular nouns and names ending in s
Add ’s to most singular nouns, including common nouns that already end in s. Write the hose’s nozzle, the class’s planting plan, and Maya’s gloves. Add the ending to the last word of a compound noun, as in my sister-in-law’s gloves.
With a singular name ending in s, check the style you’re following. Chicago and MLA use James’s plot. Some styles use James’ plot. Choose the form your editor or assignment calls for and use it consistently. Chicago on possessives ending in s · MLA on possessives · Guide to choosing a style
Regular and irregular plural possessives
If the plural already ends in s, put the apostrophe after it. Write the volunteers’ gloves and the businesses’ donations. If the plural ends in another letter, add ’s. Write the children’s gloves and the women’s gardening club. An irregular plural can still end in s. The plural of wife is wives, so the plural possessive is wives’.
Shared and separate possession
- One shared plot. Maya and Noah’s plot means Maya and Noah share the plot. Mark possession on the last name.
- One plot each. Maya’s and Noah’s plots means the two people have separate plots. Mark possession on both names.
If one of the possessors is a pronoun, use its possessive form. Maya’s and my plot is grammatical. The plot Maya and I share makes the relationship easier to read. Possession can also describe a relationship beyond ownership, as in a day’s work or two weeks’ notice. Purdue OWL on possessive apostrophes · Chicago on joint possession with pronouns · Cambridge on apostrophes with time expressions
How to form contractions
Say the full expression first. In we’re, the a of are drops out. In didn’t, the o of not drops out. Some forms also change spelling. Learn won’t as the contraction of will not. In could’ve, ’ve stands for have. Expand it to could have if you’re unsure of the spelling.
| Short form | Full form | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| you’re | you are | You’re on the watering rota. |
| we’ve | we have | We’ve ordered new seed trays. |
| he’s | he is or he has | He’s at the gate. He’s brought the key. |
| she’d | she would or she had | She’d help if she could. She’d left before I arrived. |
| didn’t | did not | We didn’t open the shed. |
| won’t | will not | The gate won’t open. |
| let’s | let us | Let’s plant the peas today. |
The next word often tells you how to expand a contraction. Maya’s waiting means Maya is waiting. Maya’s finished can mean Maya has finished or Maya is finished, depending on the context. In Maya’s shovel, the same ending marks possession. Contractions sound natural in dialogue and many everyday messages. In formal writing, follow the conventions of the assignment or publication. Cambridge’s guide to contractions
Its and it’s
Try replacing the word with it is or it has. If one of those fits, write it’s. If you mean something belongs to it, write its.
- It’s stuck again. → It is stuck again.
- It’s been stuck all week. → It has been stuck all week.
- The shed needs its lock replaced. → The lock belongs to the shed.
Apply the same expansion test to you’re (you are) and who’s (who is or who has). The possessive forms your, whose, hers, ours, and theirs take no apostrophe. More examples of its and it’s · Who’s and whose
Plurals of words, names, numbers, and letters
Use the ordinary plural when you’re counting. Write tomatoes, two PDFs, and three 7s. When the plural also shows possession, add the appropriate possessive ending. A note that says tomatoes names the crop. A note that says the tomatoes’ roots names a part of the crop.
Family names and decades
Form the family name’s plural before adding a possessive apostrophe. The Garcias names the family. The Garcias’ plot names their plot. A surname ending in s normally takes -es in the plural. Write the Joneses for the family and the Joneses’ plot for the plot they tend. MLA on family names ending in s
Write the 1990s when you give the full decade. In the ’90s, the apostrophe replaces the missing 19. Place it before the digits, with the same curved mark you would use in don’t. AP Stylebook on decades
Individual letters
An apostrophe can make the plural of a single letter easier to read. You’ll see this in mind your p’s and q’s or when you write that pepper contains three p’s. Styles vary in how they handle capital letters and grades, so check your guide for forms such as A’s and As. This convention is for individual letters in particular contexts. Initialisms such as PDFs normally take an ordinary plural s. MLA on plurals of letters · Chicago’s guidance on capital letters
How the apostrophe gained two jobs
In sixteenth-century English, the apostrophe appeared as a printer’s mark for omitted letters. Researchers tracing early printed books and correspondence found that its use for possession became more widespread in the second half of the seventeenth century. Research on the apostrophe in English
Practice placing apostrophes
Choose or write the form that fits the meaning. Then open the answers to check what each apostrophe does.
- One gardener forgot her shovel. Complete the sign: One _____ shovel is by the shed. (gardeners / gardener’s / gardeners’)
- The two gardeners share a shed. Complete the sentence: The two _____ shed is locked. (gardeners / gardener’s / gardeners’)
- Fix this label for a garden used by children: The childrens’ garden.
- Maya and Noah share one plot. Add the apostrophe to Maya and Noah plot.
- Now Maya and Noah have separate plots. Add the apostrophes to Maya and Noah plots.
- Complete the sentence: _____ been windy all day, and the shed has lost _____ roof. (Its / It’s)
- A sign names the whole Jones family. Fix Welcome, Jones’s!
- Shorten the decade in We opened the garden in the 1990s.
Show all eight answers
- gardener’s. One gardener owns the shovel. Add ’s to the singular noun.
- gardeners’. Two gardeners share the shed. Put the apostrophe after the plural s.
- The children’s garden. Children is already plural. Add ’s because it ends in n.
- Maya and Noah’s plot. Mark possession on the last name because the plot is shared.
- Maya’s and Noah’s plots. Mark possession on both names because they tend separate plots.
- It’s been windy all day, and the shed has lost its roof. The first form expands to it has. The second indicates the shed’s roof.
- Welcome, Joneses! The sign addresses the family. Add -es to make the name plural.
- We opened the garden in the ’90s. The apostrophe replaces 19. The s is the plural ending.
Check an apostrophe in your own writing
Find one apostrophe in a draft and name its job. If it marks possession, write the owner’s noun on its own first and check whether it’s singular or plural. If it marks a contraction, expand it in the sentence. Then scan any plain plurals and make sure you’ve given each word the ending it needs.
For other marks, start with the punctuation rules guide. For a longer editing pass, use the proofreading checklist. Punctuation 101 has a full lesson on apostrophes and contractions.
