When an apostrophe belongs next to a noun What is it showing?

2. Use an apostrophe in the possessive form of a noun to indicate ownership. To show ownership, add apostrophe + s to the end of a word, with one exception: To show ownership with a plural noun already ending in s add only the apostrophe.

What is it called when a word has an apostrophe?

It is called a contraction.

Where do you put the apostrophe in a name?

Use an apostrophe to indicate ownership by a proper noun. An apostrophe with an “s” after a proper noun indicates that the person, place or thing owns whatever noun follows his or her name. For example, “Mary’s lemons.” We know the lemons belong to Mary because of the ‘s.

Where did possessive s originate?

The ‘s’ at the end of a word indicating possession (“The king’s fashion sense”) probably comes from the Old English custom of adding ‘-es’ to singular genitive masculine nouns (in modern English, “The kinges fashion sense”). In this theory, the apostrophe stands in for the missing ‘e’.

Does ‘its’ have an apostrophe?

Professor David Crystal explains it in his book The Fight for English: How language pundits ate, shot, and left(Crystal 2006), pp. 134-135: Itsis just as possessive as cat’s, but it doesn’t have an apostrophe. Why not?

How do you write plurals without an apostrophe?

As a general rule, use only an -s (or an -es) without an apostrophe to form the plurals of nouns–including dates, acronyms, and family names: Markets were booming in the 1990s. The tax advantages offered by IRAs make them attractive investments.

Why are apostrophes often omitted from the first line of a sentence?

The apostrophe came to be omitted, perhaps because it’s already was established as a contraction of it is, or by general habit of omitting apostrophes in personal pronouns (hers, yours, theirs, etc.).

What causes apostrophe confusion when forming possessives?

The rules about forming possessives probably cause the most apostrophe confusion. They vary a little bit, depending on what type of noun you are making into a possessive. Here are the rules of thumb: For most singular nouns, add apostrophe+s: For most plural nouns, add only an apostrophe :