{"id":186,"date":"2016-08-08T20:53:08","date_gmt":"2016-08-08T20:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/styleguide\/?post_type=chapter&p=186"},"modified":"2023-07-26T17:04:07","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T17:04:07","slug":"apostrophes","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-guidetowriting\/chapter\/apostrophes\/","title":{"raw":"Apostrophes","rendered":"Apostrophes"},"content":{"raw":"

Possession<\/h2>\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"anWith possessives, the apostrophe is used in combination with an s<\/em>\u00a0to represent that a word literally or conceptually possesses what follows it.\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • a student\u2019s assignment<\/li>\r\n \t
  • the county\u2019s borders<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Kamala\u2019s decision<\/li>\r\n \t
  • one hour\u2019s passing<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

    Apostrophes with Words Ending in\u00a0s<\/em>\u00a0and with Plurals<\/h3>\r\nSingular words, whether or not\u00a0they\u00a0end in s<\/em>, are made possessive by adding an apostrophe +\u00a0s<\/em>. For plural words,\u00a0we typically indicate possession simply by adding the apostrophe without an additional s<\/em>. However, for a plural that does not end in an\u00a0s<\/em> (e.g., bacteria<\/em>), we would add an apostrophe +\u00a0s<\/em>.\r\n
      \r\n \t
    • Illinois\u2019s law<\/li>\r\n \t
    • Mars\u2019s atmosphere<\/li>\r\n \t
    • interviewees\u2019 answers<\/li>\r\n \t
    • the bacteria's life cycle<\/li>\r\n \t
    • her\u00a0professors\u2019 office (an office shared by two of her professors; if it were just one professor we would write\u00a0her professor's office<\/em>)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n
      Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Practices for handling apostrophes with words ending in s\u00a0<\/em>vary from style to style, sometimes using syllable count as the determining factor, for example, so you might need to check the conventions in your course's discipline.<\/div>\r\n

      Contractions<\/h2>\r\n
      \r\n\r\nA contraction is a shortened\u00a0phrase. He\u00a0will<\/em>\u00a0becomes\u00a0he'll<\/em>,\u00a0are not<\/em> becomes\u00a0aren't<\/em>, would have<\/em> becomes would've<\/em>, and\u00a0it is<\/em> becomes\u00a0it's<\/em>. In all of these cases, the apostrophe stands in for the missing letters.\r\n\r\nYou may find yourself\u00a0being steered away from using contractions in your standardized academic papers. Write to your teacher's preference. Leaving out contractions can possibly make your writing sound too formal and stilted, but using contractions can make your writing sound too informal and casual. And don't eliminate contractions in your papers just to up your word count!\r\n
      Note:<\/strong> Double contractions, like wouldn't've<\/em> or I'd've<\/em> are considered non-standardized and are typically avoided in formal written language.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
      \r\n

      Some Common\u00a0Errors<\/h3>\r\nNow that we've learned about both contraction and possession, let's take a look at some\u00a0of the most common (or at least most called out) errors people make.\r\n

      Its<\/em>\u00a0versus\u00a0It's<\/em><\/h4>\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/Yhaa214UKvA\r\n\r\nThis convention also applies to\u00a0your<\/em> vs.\u00a0you're\u00a0<\/em>and their<\/em> vs.\u00a0they're<\/em>. The best way to\u00a0use these conventionally is to remember that possessive pronouns never have an apostrophe: if there's an apostrophe with a pronoun, it's\u00a0a contraction, not a possessive.\r\n

      Should've<\/em>\u00a0versus\u00a0Should of<\/em><\/h4>\r\n
        \r\n \t
      • Should of, would of, could of<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t
      • Should've, would've, could've<\/em><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThis confusion is due to the pronunciation. Out loud both\u00a0of these phrases\u00a0sound exactly the same. However, remember that the original phrase is\u00a0should have<\/em>, as in \"I should have selected that.\" Unfortunately, the only way to remember this is rote memorization (or perhaps a closer examination of the word\u00a0of<\/em>).\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

        Acronyms and Numbers<\/h2>\r\nIn technical writing, acronyms and numbers are sometimes pluralized with the addition of an apostrophe +\u00a0s<\/em>, but this convention is falling out of favor, and there is typically no need to put an apostrophe in front of the s<\/em>. Therefore, SSTs<\/em>\u00a0(sea surface temperatures) is more acceptable than SST\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0when your intention is simply to pluralize.\r\n
        Ideally, use the apostrophe before the s<\/em>\u00a0with an acronym or a number only to show possession (e.g., \u201can 1860\u2019s law\u201d but \"in the 1860s\"; \u201cDEP\u2019s testing\u201d) or when confusion would otherwise result (\u201cmind your p<\/em>\u2019s and q<\/em>\u2019s\u201d).<\/div>\r\nWhen talking about a specific decade the 1920s<\/em> should be shortened to\u00a0the\u00a0\u201920s<\/em>. Notice that the apostrophe curls away from the numbers, indicating that the missing characters originally appeared prior to the apostrophe.\r\n
        \r\n

        Practice<\/h3>\r\nSelect the response from the list that best completes the sentence.\r\n
          \r\n \t
        1. Betty Crocker actually came from an (employees\/employee's\/employees') imagination.<\/li>\r\n \t
        2. Back in the (1930s\/1930's\/1930s'), Betty Crocker was a name everyone knew.<\/li>\r\n \t
        3. A television commercial asked, \"(Who's\/Whose) the person (who's\/whose) cookies we love?\"<\/li>\r\n \t
        4. As (woman's\/women's\/womens') fashions changed, the company updated (Betty Crocker's\/Betty Crockers') image.<\/li>\r\n \t
        5. A commercial told us, \"Buy Betty Crocker. (It's\/Its) quality you can trust!\"<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"529283\"]Show Answers<\/strong>[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"529283\"]\r\n
            \r\n \t
          1. Betty Crocker actually came from an employee's<\/strong>\u00a0imagination.<\/li>\r\n \t
          2. Back in the 1930s<\/strong>, Betty Crocker was a name everyone knew.<\/li>\r\n \t
          3. A television commercial asked, \"Who's<\/strong> the person whose<\/strong>\u00a0cookies we love?\"<\/li>\r\n \t
          4. As women's<\/strong>\u00a0fashions changed, the company updated Betty Crocker's<\/strong> image.<\/li>\r\n \t
          5. A commercial told us, \"Buy Betty Crocker. It's<\/strong> quality you can trust!\"<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

            Possession<\/h2>\n
            \n

            \"anWith possessives, the apostrophe is used in combination with an s<\/em>\u00a0to represent that a word literally or conceptually possesses what follows it.<\/p>\n

              \n
            • a student\u2019s assignment<\/li>\n
            • the county\u2019s borders<\/li>\n
            • Kamala\u2019s decision<\/li>\n
            • one hour\u2019s passing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Apostrophes with Words Ending in\u00a0s<\/em>\u00a0and with Plurals<\/h3>\n

              Singular words, whether or not\u00a0they\u00a0end in s<\/em>, are made possessive by adding an apostrophe +\u00a0s<\/em>. For plural words,\u00a0we typically indicate possession simply by adding the apostrophe without an additional s<\/em>. However, for a plural that does not end in an\u00a0s<\/em> (e.g., bacteria<\/em>), we would add an apostrophe +\u00a0s<\/em>.<\/p>\n

                \n
              • Illinois\u2019s law<\/li>\n
              • Mars\u2019s atmosphere<\/li>\n
              • interviewees\u2019 answers<\/li>\n
              • the bacteria’s life cycle<\/li>\n
              • her\u00a0professors\u2019 office (an office shared by two of her professors; if it were just one professor we would write\u00a0her professor’s office<\/em>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Practices for handling apostrophes with words ending in s\u00a0<\/em>vary from style to style, sometimes using syllable count as the determining factor, for example, so you might need to check the conventions in your course’s discipline.<\/div>\n

                Contractions<\/h2>\n
                \n

                A contraction is a shortened\u00a0phrase. He\u00a0will<\/em>\u00a0becomes\u00a0he’ll<\/em>,\u00a0are not<\/em> becomes\u00a0aren’t<\/em>, would have<\/em> becomes would’ve<\/em>, and\u00a0it is<\/em> becomes\u00a0it’s<\/em>. In all of these cases, the apostrophe stands in for the missing letters.<\/p>\n

                You may find yourself\u00a0being steered away from using contractions in your standardized academic papers. Write to your teacher’s preference. Leaving out contractions can possibly make your writing sound too formal and stilted, but using contractions can make your writing sound too informal and casual. And don’t eliminate contractions in your papers just to up your word count!<\/p>\n

                Note:<\/strong> Double contractions, like wouldn’t’ve<\/em> or I’d’ve<\/em> are considered non-standardized and are typically avoided in formal written language.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
                \n

                Some Common\u00a0Errors<\/h3>\n

                Now that we’ve learned about both contraction and possession, let’s take a look at some\u00a0of the most common (or at least most called out) errors people make.<\/p>\n

                Its<\/em>\u00a0versus\u00a0It’s<\/em><\/h4>\n