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Hello! In the last lesson, you used commas to mark the structure of sentences. Apostrophes require a different kind of check: rather than listening for a pause, ask what the word means. Is it a shortened form of two words, or does it show a relationship such as ownership?
That distinction matters in articles, emails, and other freelance writing. The clients’ comments refers to comments from more than one client; the client’s comments refers to one. This lesson will help you choose the right form and catch common mistakes such as it’s versus its.
Two jobs for one small mark
An apostrophe has two main jobs you will use regularly. It can mark missing letters in a contraction, as in don’t for do not. It can also help a noun show possession or a close relationship, as in the article’s title. In that phrase, the title does not literally belong to the article in the way a person owns an object; it is the title of the article.
Watch this short introduction before we work through the rules. Notice how moving an apostrophe can change the number of people involved, not just the appearance of a word.
When to use apostrophes - Laura McClure
Watch “When to use apostrophes” by Laura McClure on TED-Ed for a visual overview of possession, contractions, and the important exception its.
Start with the overview of apostrophe uses. In possessive forms, focus on the difference between one sister and several sisters, and on the advice about following a publication’s style for names ending in s. Finish with its versus it’s and missing letters. The last two ranges overlap slightly because the explanation moves directly from pronouns to contractions.
The useful question is not “Does this word end in s?” Many ordinary plurals and verbs do. The question is “What job would an apostrophe do here?”
In contractions, the apostrophe marks what is missing
A contraction combines words into a shorter form. The apostrophe marks where letters have been left out:
| Full form | Contraction | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| do not | don’t | The o in not is missing. |
| we are | we’re | The a in are is missing. |
| I am | I’m | The a in am is missing. |
| could have | could’ve | Letters from have are missing. |
| will not | won’t | The spelling changes more substantially; learn this common form as a whole. |
The most reliable editing move is to expand the contraction. If you write, “We’re ready to send the draft,” try “We are ready to send the draft.” The sentence still makes sense, so we’re is the form you want.
An apostrophe can also follow a noun when that noun is shortened with is or has: The editor’s reviewing the draft can mean The editor is reviewing the draft. Compare that with the editor’s comments, which means comments from the editor. Context tells you which job ’s is doing.
Contractions are common in conversational articles and many professional emails. They are not automatically unprofessional, but a formal document or a client’s style guide may call for fewer of them. Whether you choose we are or we’re, spell the chosen form correctly.
In possessives, start with the person or thing being described
For a possessive noun, first identify the noun that has the item or relationship. Then ask whether that noun is singular or plural. The apostrophe goes with that noun:
One client: the client’s feedback
Several clients: the clients’ feedback
Several people, irregular plural: the people’s feedback
Here, client is singular, so add ’s. Clients is a plural already ending in s, so add an apostrophe after that s. People is plural but does not end in s, so add ’s. The same rule gives you children’s books and women’s voices.
These forms are useful well beyond literal ownership. You might write the article’s opening, the website’s layout, or the readers’ questions. In each case, the possessive identifies a relationship concisely.
Read Purdue OWL’s rules for noun possessives and its warning about forms that do not take apostrophes. Keep the singular/plural decision in mind as you read.
Apostrophe Introduction - Purdue OWL
Read “The Apostrophe” from Purdue OWL to see the possessive patterns together and to learn a practical way to check apostrophes during proofreading.
Under “Forming Possessives of Nouns,” begin where the page says “Once you've determined whether you need to make a possessive.” Read the noun rules through the example of joint possession. Focus on what happens when a singular noun already ends in s, when a plural ends in s, and when it does not. Then find “Don't use apostrophes for personal pronouns, the relative pronoun who, or for noun plurals.” Starting with “Apostrophes should not be used with possessive pronouns,” read the pronoun explanation through the its/it’s reminder. Finally, under “Proofreading for apostrophes,” read the two checks for missing and unnecessary apostrophes.
One detail deserves special care: a singular noun that ends in s is still singular. For this course, use ’s as your default: the business’s website refers to one business. For a singular name ending in s, both ’s and an apostrophe alone appear in published writing. If a client supplies a style guide, follow it; otherwise, choose a convention and use it consistently.
With two possessors, meaning makes the choice. The writer and editor’s shared schedule is one schedule they share, so only the last noun takes the possessive ending. The writer’s and editor’s schedules are separate schedules, so each noun takes one.
Know when not to add an apostrophe
The trickiest pair is it’s and its:
It’s ready for review. = It is ready for review.
The article needs its headline. = The headline associated with the article.
Although nouns often take an apostrophe to show possession, possessive pronouns do not. Write its, hers, ours, yours, theirs, and whose without apostrophes. Use the expansion test when you are unsure: if it is or it has fits the sentence, write it’s. If neither fits, you may need its.
The same test helps with other pairs:
You’re revising the opening. = You are revising the opening.
Your opening is clear. = The opening associated with you.
Who’s reviewing the draft? = Who is reviewing the draft?
Whose draft is this? = Which person’s draft is this?
Finally, do not add an apostrophe merely because a word ends in s. Three articles is an ordinary plural; the articles’ headlines refers to the headlines of those articles. The editor reviews the draft contains a verb, reviews, not a possessive. Writing article’s for the plural articles, or review’s for the verb reviews, would give the apostrophe no valid job.
A dependable proofreading pass
You can check apostrophes without relying on how a sentence sounds. Look at each one in a draft and ask:
- Is this a contraction? Expand it. Does the full form fit the sentence?
- Is this a possessive noun? Identify who or what has the item or relationship. Is that noun singular, a plural ending in s, or a plural without a final s?
- Is it a possessive pronoun or an ordinary plural? If so, it usually needs no apostrophe.
See how the questions work in a short passage:
Draft: The client’s approved the articles headline, but its links need checking.
Revised: The client approved the article’s headline, but its links need checking.
In the draft, client’s has no clear job: client is approved does not express the intended meaning, and nothing belonging to the client follows it. Article’s is needed because the headline is the headline of the article. Its remains without an apostrophe because it refers to the article’s links; it is links would not make sense.
This is why a spellchecker cannot make every apostrophe decision for you. Both its and it’s are real words. Your meaning decides which belongs in the sentence.
Takeaways
Use apostrophes to mark missing letters in contractions and to form possessive nouns. For a possessive, decide whether the noun is singular (client’s), a plural ending in s (clients’), or a plural without a final s (people’s). Do not use apostrophes for ordinary plurals or possessive pronouns such as its and whose.
In the next lesson, you’ll turn from punctuation to subject–verb agreement—another check that depends on identifying what a sentence is actually saying.