3.14: Apostrophe Errors

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Apostrophe Errors

Apostrophes give many writers a lot of trouble. Sometimes, you might be tempted to put an apostrophe where it does not belong, such as when you are simply making a word plural. Other times, you need to make a word possessive, but you might forget to use the apostrophe.

Then, of course, there is that whole "its" / "it’s" thing that confuses most everyone.

Remember, the rule is to use an apostrophe when you need to show possession or ownership. The exception is with its.

"Its" shows ownership because "it’s" means "it is". So, it’s like "it’s" is already taken, so "its" gets to be an ownership exception. To make sure you are using "it’s" correctly, just say "it is" when you read it. If it makes sense, you’re fine. However, if you’re trying to show ownership, and it is would not work in the sentence, you need to make the change to "its".

For more information on the apostrophe, be sure to check out the Apostrophe section in the Punctuation chapter (or if you just need to brush up your skills, visit the Apostrophe Refresher). Otherwise, you might end up with a sentence like this:

Its abundantly clear, to me, that creature’s of the night are just misunderstood and misguided beings who sometimes err in judgment and eat their neighbors’ as well as their neighbors families.

And, you would want a sentence like this:

It’s abundantly clear, to me, that creatures of the night are just misunderstood and misguided beings who sometimes err in judgment and eat their neighbors as well as their neighbors’ families.