Apostrophes

1. The apostrophe is a raised comma ( ' ). It is used for two different reasons: to indicate the possessive case and contractions.

2. The possessive case. We can say either 'the whiskers of the cat' or 'the cat's whiskers'. This is the possessive case - when something belongs to something or somebody else.

3. When the possessor is single we indicate possession by the use of an apostrophe followed by the letter 's':

        The man's coat       my sister's hat

4. When the possessors are plural, the apostrophe is placed after the 's':

        The ladies' cloakroom       my cousins' parents

5. When names end with the letter 's', either use is acceptable:

       James' wife        James's wife

6. The apostrophe is never used with possessive pronouns:

        his         hers         its         ours         yours         theirs

But it is used with 'one': One must do one's best

7. Note that many shops and business concerns these days omit the apostrophe from their titles:

        Barclays Bank        Coopers Wines

8. Contractions. In formal prose we would write 'She has told him', but when speaking we would say 'She's told him'. The apostrophe is used to indicate any missing letters.

9. I'm (I am) - he's (He is) - You're (You are)

10. NOTE the difference between it's (it is) and its (belonging to it). These are often mis-used.

11. You should avoid using contractions in academic essays and formal writing. They create a rather casual tone.