When you see it's or it's in your work, double-check the sentence. You don't need the apostrophe if you can say "it is" in its place. If you're indicating that something has possession or ownership of something, you don't need an apostrophe, although using one is acceptable. For example: My book is on the desk; she's my sister.
One of the most prevalent English grammatical errors is it's vs. its. Its is the possessive form of the pronoun it (no apostrophe). Most possessives begin with a "s," which is presumably why so many people are perplexed. It's (with an apostrophe) is the abbreviated form. When writing or speaking formally, using the correct form is important because it shows that you know how to use correct grammar.
Apostrophes are only used for two things: contractions and ownership. When writing contractions, use the apostrophe. The apostrophe is always used when the letter is no longer present. Couldn't, don't, isn't, you're, she's, and it's—which is "it is." (Note that this is a contraction, not a possessive.)
Ownership can be indicated in two ways with the apostrophe: by using the word's or by using the word "'. Using the word "s" means that there is one item owned by one person or company. Using the word """ means that there are multiple items owned by one person or company.
For example, if I own my car, I would write "I'm the owner of my car". If several people owned my car, they would write "I'm the owner of my car's engine". Apostrophes are used in both examples.
When writing about four-legged animals, don't use apostrophes unless you want to indicate ownership. For example, if I own dog, I would write "he's a good dog". If we were to say that three people owned dog, we would have to write "they're all good dogs", because apostrophes are used when there is more than one item being owned.
In conclusion, an apostrophe is a punctuation mark that contracts words when necessary and indicates ownership when needed.
The apostrophe is usually used before or after the s at the end of a word. The owner of a word is always followed (usually quickly) by the object they possess. For example, if I own the word "hat," then my wife would be the one who wears hats, not me.
Words that describe actions that people can do such as drive, walk, swim, and run often have the apostrophe to show that they are not objects that can be worn or carried around like clothes or luggage. Driving's a great way to get from here to there! Swimming's an awesome activity for your body! Walking's great for exercise!
Other words that contain an s are socks, hose, mittens, gloves, and bus'ness. Socks are things that cover your feet, hoses are tubes that carry water, mittens are gloves with fingers attached, and buses are vehicles that take people from place to place.
Apostrophes are also used to indicate possession. My book, her coat, our school, their family, etc. Possession is a special type of relationship in which one thing is owned by another. In this case, the book, the coat, the school, and the families all belong to someone or something else.
Apostrophes should not be used with relative pronouns. It is crucial to remember that not all words ending in "s" require an apostrophe. Many nouns that end in "s" are simply plurals. The only words that should use a "apostrophe s" to signify possession are nouns that show possession. These include some proper names, such as Michael's, Mary's, and Peter's.
In conclusion, use common sense when using apostrophes. If in doubt, leave it out.
The only words that do not require an apostrophe to express belonging are possessive pronouns—the terms his, hers, ours, yours, and theirs (meaning 'belonging to him, her, us, you, or them')—and possessive determiners. These words are easy to identify because they end in s, es, or zs.
Possessive pronouns are used to indicate ownership of a noun. The owner's name is then followed by the pronoun to show who owns what. For example, if I own the car parked outside, I would say it belongs to me. If my friend owned the car, he/she would say it belongs to him/her.
Possessive determiners are words such as my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose, which are used to describe objects or people. They are attached to a noun to indicate possession. For example, if I were to tell you that my apartment is on the third floor, I would be saying that it is part of mine. If I were to tell you that his apartment is on the third floor, I would be saying that it is part of his.
An apostrophe is used with contractions to indicate that one word is being replaced with another that starts with a letter other than a. For example, if I said my name was John, that would be a complete sentence.
Possessives' Apostrophe Rules
Possessives' Apostrophe Rules