Apostrophes

Welcome to the guide on using apostrophes correctly. We have an interactive online tutorial, a 'how to' helpsheet and further reading. 

Top Tips for using apostrophes

• Never use apostrophes in plural words
• To show possession, the apostrophe is always put after the owner of the thing
• Remember the exception to the rule - don't use it's for possession, use its

We have an online tutorial for using apostrophes. There are activities for you to take part in along the way:

When not to use apostrophes

Plurals: you should never use apostrophes when using plurals, so write apples, not apple’s. 

Abbreviations, acronyms or dates: it’s common to think that you need to add an apostrophe for these, but they are only used if something belongs to them, so use:

• DVDs, not DVD's 
• 2020s, not 2020's

When to use apostrophes:

Contractions: Apostrophes are used to show where letters are missing, so do not becomes don’t, would not becomes wouldn’t. However, you should not use these in academic assignments as it makes your writing less formal. You should always write out the words in full. 

Possession: Apostrophes are used to show when something belongs to someone or something:  e.g. The student’s assignment (the assignment which belongs to the student) 

The apostrophe is always put directly after the owner of the thing.  Once you know who the owner is, it should be easier to know where the apostrophe goes.  

Singular words: if the owner is one person or thing, but the apostrophe straight after them:  e.g. The company’s marketing plan or John’s book. 

Plural words: if a word already indicates that it is plural, the same rule applies as for singular words, so the apostrophe goes straight after the people or things:  e.g. The women’s team. 

Plural words that end in s: if the plural word ends in s, the apostrophe comes after the s:  e.g. the patients’ experiences (the experiences of many patients). 

Where the apostrophe goes is very important to know if you are writing about a singular or plural thing:  

e.g. the association’s guidelines (the guidelines of one association)  

or 

the associations’ guidelines (the guidelines of several associations) 

Names ending in s: if a name ends in s, put an apostrophe plus an s straight after the name: e.g. Miss Jones’s opinion 

Apostrophes for abbreviations, acronyms or dates: you do need apostrophes if there is something belonging to these:  

e.g. The NHS’s budget 

or 

1990’s fashion 

Exceptions

Like most of the English language, there is an exception to these rules, and this is when to use its or it’s. 

If it is a contraction, use it’s, so if there are letters missing, use an apostrophe:  e.g. It’s been a difficult time (shortened from it has been a difficult time, but do not use these in academic writing) 

If it is a possessive, use its: The school improved its OFSTED inspection grading.  

The following helpsheet will take you through the basics of using apostrophes

Click on the image to see additional useful resources.

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