Apostrophes
v Use an apostrophe and an s (‘s) to form the possessive of a singular noun and a plural noun that does not end in an s.
Ø Samantha’s grandmother’s recipe
Ø the women’s collection
Ø Jess’s pound cake
v Use an apostrophe to form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in s. For plural possessives that do not end in s, add an apostrophe and an s (‘s).
Ø the sisters’ collection
Ø the men’s favorite pies
v Use an apostrophe and an s (‘s) to form the possessive of an indefinite pronoun. Never use an apostrophe and an s (‘s) in a possessive pronoun.
Ø The burnt cake pan is no one’s fault.
Ø I had to clean everyone’s dishes!
Ø Those recipes are yours. These recipes are ours.
Ø I made my grandmother’s cream cheese icing, and hers is better.
v Use an apostrophe to replace the omitted letters in a contraction.
Ø We can’t give you anymore samples. (can not)
Ø She didn’t make a very large supply. (did not)
Ø We’re under the impression that this recipe is very marketable. (We are)
Ø They’d had many successful tries at baking. (They had)
Ø We left at 9 o’clock. (of the clock)
v Use an apostrophe to replace the omitted numbers in a year.
Ø The class of ’74 will be returning for a special event.
Sometimes possessive pronouns can be confused with contractions. Be careful to use context clues from the sentence to help you understand.
v It’s and Its - It’s is the contraction of it is. Its is a possessive pronoun.
Ø Because it’s snowing really hard, our dog lost its way home.
v Who’s and Whose – Who’s is the contraction of who is and who has. Whose is a possessive pronoun.
Ø Whose idea was it to create a website that asks “Who’s your Favorite Celebrity Chef”?
v You’re and Your – You’re is the contraction of you are. Your is a possessive pronoun.
Ø You’re sure that you didn’t lose your earring in the cake?
v They’re and Their (and There) – They’re is the contraction of they are. Their is a possessive pronoun. There is an adverb meaning at or in that place, or it is used at the beginning of a sentence.
Ø There are a few things that they’re doing wrong with their recipe.
v There’s and Theirs – There’s is the contraction of there is. Theirs is a possessive pronoun.
Ø We carefully checked the grammar in our contract, but there’s bound to be mistakes in theirs.
