How to use apostrophe

Apostrophes (') can be confusing, even for native English

speakers. However, they aren't difficult to master if you can
remember a few apostrophe rules. Learn the different
apostrophe rules for creating possessives and contractions.

Apostrophe Uses

Apostrophes serve two basic functions in writing:

 to show possession
 to indicate that letters have been removed to form a
contraction
Apostrophe Rules for Possessives

It would be difficult for possessives to exist without

apostrophes. Let's take a look at three different uses of the
possessive apostrophe.

1. Use an apostrophe +"s" ('s) to show that one

person/thing owns or is a member of something.
 Amy's ballet class

 Lisa's car

 Robert's car

Style guides vary when it comes to a name that ends in an

"s." Even if the name ends in "s," it's still correct to add
another "'s" to create the possessive form. It's also
acceptable to add only an apostrophe to the end of singular
nouns that end in "s" to make them possessive.

In this case, you can show possession for Ross in either of

two ways:
  Ross' room
 Ross's sports team

2. Use an apostrophe after the "s" (s') at the end of a

plural noun to show possession.
 the parents' bedroom

 the Smiths' lives

It is not necessary to add another "s" to the end of

a possessive plural noun.

3. If a plural noun doesn't end in "s," add an apostrophe

+ "s" to create the possessive form.
 the children's rooms

 the tuna's beds

Remember, a possessive noun needs an apostrophe and an

"s" at the end. If there's already an "s" there, you can just
add the apostrophe. If there's no "s," you have to add both
— first the apostrophe, and then the "s."
Apostrophe Rules for Joint Possessives

When you want to show that two people have ownership

over something, it can get a little tricky. Whether you make
both possessive or just the final one depends on the
ownership.

Joint Ownership

If both people own the same item together, you can add
the possessive to the final one.

 Dave and Alice's car (Both Dave and Alice own the car.)
 Tim and Jane's trip (Tim and Jane are going together
on the trip.)
 Darnell and Dylan's open house (Darnell and Dylan are
having one open house.)
Separate Ownership

However, if each individual owns separate versions of the

same type of item, then you would make both owners
possessive. For example, if Dave and Alice both own a
separate car, it would be "Alice's and Dave's cars. "
 Darnell's and Dylan's open houses (two different open

houses)
 Tim's and Jane's trips (two separate trips)

 Sally's and Steve's cottages (two different cottages)

Notice that when there are separate owners of the items,

the items are plural.

Apostrophe Rule for Contractions

There's really only one rule for apostrophes and

contractions, aside from careful placement.
1. When you combine two words to make a contraction,
you will always take out some letters. In their place, you
add an apostrophe.
 they + have = they've (you took out "ha")

 are + not = aren't (you took out "o")

 they + will = they'll (you took out "wi")

Imagine you're on a submarine that's diving deep into the

ocean. As you dive deeper and deeper, the water pressure
becomes greater. If you go too deep, the water will squeeze
the submarine so hard it'll begin to leak, and you'll need to
put something into the hole to stop the leak. The same
thing happens when you squeeze two words together.
Something pops out. And, wherever it comes out, you must
place an apostrophe to plug the hole. The one exception to
this rule is the contraction "won't," which is a contraction of
"will + not."
Apostrophes at Work

Are you ready to see apostrophes in action? In the following

story, apostrophes are being used for multiple purposes.
Let's take a look at where they are and how they're
functioning.

Robert and Lisa Smith have two beautiful children. Amy is

nine and Ross is seven. The Smiths' house has two floors.
The children's rooms are upstairs, and
the parents' bedroom is downstairs. Lisa's room is always
clean while Ross's room is always messy. The Smiths' lives
are very busy this week. Ross's sports teams all have
games. Amy's ballet class has a recital and Robert's car is
in the shop. So, the Smiths are trying to get everything
done with only Lisa's car. Today, they've been to school,
practice, rehearsal, the grocery store, and
the veterinarian's office. Mind you, they aren't finished
yet. They'll be busy until late tonight and,
tomorrow, they'll do it all again.
Apostrophe Rules Summary

English apostrophe rules are not difficult to master. Just

remember that all possessives need an apostrophe and an
"s" at the end. If the word already has an "s," it only needs
an apostrophe. If the word does not already have an "s," it
needs the apostrophe followed by "s." However, when to
use apostrophe "s" or an apostrophe after "s," can vary by
preference for words that end in "s."

As for contractions, the only apostrophe rule you need to

remember is that if you take something out, replace it with
something else. Then squish everything together, so it looks
like one word. Now, are you ready for some fun?
Learn when NOT to use an apostrophe!

The word OF

We use OF with compound nouns (seres inanimados).

  Have you seen the car key? (Você viu a chave do
carro?)
Car key is a compound noun. This is more natural than “the
key of the car“. It would not be wrong to speak “the key of
the car“; but it is not the most natural. Then, prefer to
say car key.
In English it’s better to use a compound noun than using a
construction with of.
 the table leg (a perna da mesa)

 the bottle opener (o abridor de garrafa)

 the bus stop (a parada de ônibus, o ponto de ônibus)

 the police car (o carro de polícia)

The controversies
Unfortunately, to be an alive language, English certainly will
make strangeness in some moments.

For example, to say “o custo de vida” , the most common is

to say “the cost of living“. But in plural – os custos de vida –,
the most natural is to tell “the living costs“. Why? I don’t
know! I just know it’s like this.
When we speak “a map of Brazil” we are referring to a map
showing Brazil. Then, we don’t speak Brazil’s map. At last,
Brazil is not the map’s owner. But can we say “a Brazil
map“?
If we search in Google, we will find occurrences for that.
Therefore, we end up without understand. Nonetheless
what the grammars say is the most usual in this case will say
“a map of Brazil“.
To tell “peças do computador“, the most common will be
“computer parts” or even “parts of the computer“. However
don’t wonder if some time or another you find a native
person writing “computer’s parts“.
The same works for animals when we say “the bird’s wings”
(as asas do pássaro). But we can find “the wings of the bird”
and “the bird wings“.

ACTIVITIES

1- https://www.coladaweb.com/exercicios-
resolvidos/exercicios-resolvidos-de-ingles/the-
genitive-case
2- https://inglesnoteclado.com.br/2021/05/exercicio
s-de-s-caso-genitivo-possessivo-com-
respostas.html

3- https://www.inglesclaro.com/2020/10/genitive-
case-apostrofo-s-s-em-ingles.html