A Little Grammar...Apostrophes

“Wait, a post about grammar?”

These days writing is a very important form of communication. When you apply for a job it is likely that you won't actually communicate with anyone by talking until you get to the interview. It's important to give a good impression in e-mail communication and on your resume by using correct grammar. Employers will use grammar mistakes as an easy excuse to toss your application aside.

“Why are apostrophes so difficult for people to figure out?”

In English the ending that makes something plural and the ending that makes something possessive sound EXACTLY THE SAME.

“So what's the rule?”

THE RULE about apostrophes is: Use apostrophes for possessives; don't use apostrophes for plurals.

“How do I use this rule?”

Plural is when you are talking about more than one of something (a noun). Don't use apostrophes in this case. There are some special spelling rules for plurals, but in general you add s or es. Here are some examples.

YES: Happy Holidays from the Johnsons!
YES: The Johnsons send you happy wishes!

NO: A big thank you from the Johnson's!
NO: With love from the Johnsons'.

Possessive means that you are showing that one noun “owns” another one. Use apostrophes in this situation. If the noun doing the possessing is singular, use 's. If the noun doing the possessing is plural, use s'. If it's a singular noun that ends in s, either option is acceptable. Whether or not the noun being possessed is singular or plural does not matter.

YES: Welcome to the Smiths' home!
YES: That car is Mr. Smith's.

“And what if it's a plural noun ending in s that is doing the possessing?”

Since you are using both suffixes, plural AND possessive, add a plural ending AND the possessive apostrophe:

NO: The family next door is named Jones. We are always trying to keep up with the Jones's. Right now we are saving money so we can get a boat that is bigger than the Jones' boat.

YES: The family next door is named Jones. We are always trying to keep up with the Joneses (plural). Right now we are saving money so we can get a boat that is bigger than the Joneses' boat (plural+possessive).

“Hey, remember that exception you mentioned earlier?”

The only exception to the main rule I gave above is the words its and it's. These words kind of go against the rule, since its (the word without the apostrophe) is the possessive version. However, it's (the word with the apostrophe) is not plural. This word is a contraction of it is. So you can always expand the contraction to it is as a way to test whether you should have the apostrophe or not.

NO: Our dog really enjoyed it's new birthday toy. (Whoop! Whoop! Contraction alert!)

YES: Our dog really enjoyed its new birthday toy..

YES: It's difficult to solve this puzzle. → It is difficult to solve this puzzle. (Woohoo! It's okay!)

In summary, apostrophes should be used for possession or contractions only, not plurals. And don't use an apostrophe in possessive its.

P.S. Use the same strategy for the your/you're problem: you're is a contraction of "you are", your is a possessive.