owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_apost.html
Apostrophes are NOT used for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals, including acronyms. For example: the boy's hat = the hat of the boy three days' journey = journey of three days If the noun after "of" is a building, an object, or a piece of furniture, then no apostrophe is needed! room of the hotel = hotel room door of the car = car door leg of the table = table leg Once you've determined whether you need to make a possessive, follow these rules to create one. add 's to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in -s): the owner's car James's hat add 's to the plural forms that do not end in -s: the children's game the geese's honking add ' to the end of plural nouns that end in -s: houses' roofs three friends' letters add 's to the end of compound words: my brother-in-law's money add 's to the last noun to show joint possession of an object: Todd and Anne's apartment Showing omission of letters Apostrophes are used in contractions. A contraction is a word (or set of numbers) in which one or more letters (or numbers) have been omitted. Contractions are common in speaking and in informal writing. To use an apostrophe to create a contraction, place an apostrophe where the omitted letter would go. To form the plural of a lowercase letter, place 's after the letter. There is no need for apostrophes indicating a plural on capitalized letters, numbers, and symbols (though keep in mind that some editors, teachers, and professors still prefer them). Here are some examples: p's and q's = a phrase indicating politeness, possibly from "mind your pleases and thankyous"? Nita's mother constantly stressed minding one's p's and q's. three Macintosh G4s = three of the Macintosh model G4 There are two G4s currently used in the writing classrom. many &s = many ampersands That printed page has too many &s on it. the 1960s = the years in decade from 1960 to 1969 The 1960s were a time of great social unrest. Don't use apostrophes for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals. Apostrophes should not be used with possessive pronouns because possessive pronouns already show possession -- they don't need an apostrophe. His, her, its, my, yours, ours are all possessive pronouns.
Proofreading for apostrophes A good time to proofread is when you have finished writing the paper. Try the following strategies to proofread for apostrophes: If you tend to leave out apostrophes, check every word that ends in -s or -es to see if it needs an apostrophe. If you put in too many apostrophes, check every apostrophe to see if you can justify it with a rule for using apostrophes.
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