Using Apostrophes - Academic Skills - Trent University

Contractions and Possessives

Contractions
Possessive Apostrophes
Possessive Pronouns

The Apostrophe and Contractions

Contractions are words that have been made by "contracting" or condensing two words into one by removing a letter or letters and replacing them with an apostrophe: is not becomes isn't, for example. In all but one contraction, the apostrophe goes in the precise spot where the letters have been removed. The exception is that will not becomes won't.

Many often-confused words involve contractions: it's and its, they're and their and there, who's and whose, you're and your.

it's = it is
- its = possessive pronoun
they're = they are
- their = possessive pronoun
who's = who is
- whose = possessive pronoun
you're = you are
- your = possessive pronoun

Contractions are are commonplace in everyday speech and informal writing. However, we recommend you avoid contractions in a paper, lab or other assignment for university. When you revise your paper, assess all apostrophes: are they for a contraction or a possessive noun? If you answer "contraction", write the words in full.

The Apostrophe and Possessives

Possessives are nouns (persons, places, things, concepts) or pronouns (words that replace nouns) that show possession.

Writers use a possessive apostrophe to indicate that one noun belongs to another.

One common error is the use of an apostrophe to make a noun plural. Nouns do not require an apostrophe to become plural. In English, s is often added to a word to make it plural: one book and two books (not two book's). A possessive noun is followed by another noun that belongs to it, and the possessive apostrophe shows this relationship: boy's bike, boys' bikes, mother's present, parents' worries.

Use an apostrophe + s to make a singular noun into a possessive:

the car's windshield

The apostrophe + s shows that the windshield belongs to or is possessed by the car.

Use only an apostrophe when a noun ends with s

Use an apostrophe to make a plural noun into a possessive:

the cars' windshields

Because most plural nouns end with s already, an apostrophe + s is not added to them: cars' not cars's

Plural Nouns that don't end with s, such as women, men, children, data, require an apostrophe + s to become possessive: children's toys or sheep’s wool

Note: for names that end in s, such as James or Jones, you have a choice: James's life or James' life

Pronouns that Change Form to become Possessive

It is important to realize that the above rules only work with nouns. For pronouns, these rules do not apply.

Pronouns change form to become possessive; they do not require an apostrophe. In fact, there are no such words as her's, our's, your's, their's, theirs', etc.

For each pronoun (first column) there is a matching possessive pronoun (second column).
Pronoun	Possessive Pronoun
I	my or mine
you	your or yours
he	his
she	her or hers
it	its
we	our or ours
they	their or theirs