Apostrophes

Apostrophes are used to show possession (never plurals! I always make my students recite "I will not use an apostrophe to make things plural!"), but sometimes remembering the right way to use apostrophes can be confusing. Eddie wrote to us asking how to help explain to his 8 year old son how to use the apostrophes that appear in a few words on his son's spelling list. Excellent question!

To show ownership with a singular noun, add an apostrophe and then an "s"

e.g. My sister's hat is pretty. (Without the apostrophe, we would say "The hat of my sister is pretty.")

To show ownership with a plural noun, put the apostrophe after the "s" that is already there.

e.g. My two sisters' hats are very pretty. ( Without the apostrophe, we would say "The hats that belong to my two sisters are pretty.")

When the plural word does not have an "s" ending, just add the apostrophe and the "s" like you would with a singular word.

e.g. The children's hats were very pretty. (Without the apostrophe, we would say "The hats of the children were very pretty.")

Finally, if you have a singular name that ends in an "s" you still need a second "s" after the apostrophe.

e.g. Chris's hat was not pretty. (Without the apostrophe, "The hat that belongs to Chris is not pretty.")

Exception: Famous historical/religious figures sometimes get away without the second "s"

e.g. Jesus' deeds were described in the homily this week. (Without the apostrophe, "The deeds of Jesus were described in the homily this week.")

If your son has difficulty determining whether the sentence wants a plural word (no apostrophe) or a possessive word (apostrophe), have him try the "of" test. If you can insert "of" in the sentence, like I have done with some of the examples above, then you want an apostrophe. If you cannot, then the word is just plural, and there is no apostrophe needed.

And, of course, apostrophes are used to make contractions, like "I'm," "don't," and "can't."

Pop quiz for all you smarties out there: Why doesn't the possessive form of "its" take an apostrophe?
Post your response in the comments section!