The Apostrophe

A punctuation mark that is used to show possession or omission. y Learning how to correctly use the apostrophe will help you make your meaning clear to your readers.
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the birds nests You have birds and you have nests, but you don't know the relationship between them. y the bird's nest One bird has one nest. y the bird's nests Now one bird has multiple nests.
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the birds' nest Multiple birds are sharing one nest. y the birds' nests Lots of birds have lots of nests.
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The Apostrophe
The Apostrophe has three uses to form possessive nouns to show the omission of letters to indicate certain plurals of lowercase letters

Forming Possessives of Nouns

Possession means ownership. Use an apostrophe to indicate that an object belongs to someone or something. Where you place the apostrophe depends on whether the possessive noun or pronoun is singular or plural.

To form a possessive of a singular noun, add an apostrophe and an s. The trucks tires The survivors story

To form the possessive of a plural noun that already ends in s, add only an apostrophe: The window washers union (the union belongs to all window washers) My brothers room (the brothers share a room)

To form the possessive of a plural proper noun, add only an apostrophe: The Americans reaction The Joneses house

To form the possessive of an irregular plural noun that does not end in s add an apostrophe and an s. The childrens books Womens group

Use an apostrophe to show possession.

First determine if ownership is separate or joint If ownership is separate, make each noun possessive by adding and apostrophe and an s. During Christmas break, Ill be staying at my brothers and my sisters house. (The brother and sister own separate houses)

If ownership is shared, make only the final noun possessive. Every year, I visit my mom and dads winter cottage and summer house. (mom and dad jointly own both residences)

Showing omission of Letters

Use an apostrophe in place of omitted letters in contractions. dont=do not Im=I am hell=he will whos=who is Use an apostrophe to indicate omissions in dates and expressions 90s sugarnspice

Avoid misusing apostrophes

Use an apostrophe for the contraction its but not for the possessive its. y Its means it is y Its (a possessive pronoun) used to show ownership y Dont use an apostrophe with personal pronouns. Example: yours or theirs.
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The Hyphen
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Is used to link the parts of a compound noun that begin with prefixes

Ex-partner y Self-esteem y President-elect

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Use a hyphen to link the parts of compound nouns that include a prepositional phrase.

Son-in-law y Jack-in-the-box
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Use a hyphen to link part of a compound adjective when it precedes the noun.

Coal-mining equipment y Grease-stained jeans

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Use a hyphen to link parts of a fraction used as an adjective.

Two-thirds empty y One-half finished

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Omit the hyphen if the fraction is used as a noun. Example: One half of the bus was empty.

Use a hyphen to link the parts of a compound number between twenty-one and ninety-nine.

Forty-five seats y Thirty-four years

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Use a hyphen when a word is divided at the end of a line. Place between syllables only. If the word already contains a hyphen, divide it only at the hyphen. y Today many people are still interested in the trappers independent life style.
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Hyphenate to distinguish between two words that are spelled similarly and might be confused. M-e-e-t is not the same as m-e-a-t.

Apostrophe Exercises
Possessives: Change the phrases below into possessives by using s or by adding the apostrophe. 1. The horse of the policeman. 2. The balloon of mary. 3. The car of sue. 4. The home of my nephews. 5. The toys of the children.
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Contractions
Write the contractions for the following words. 1. She is 2. I will 3. Would not 4. Where is 5. Should not

Hyphen
Insert hyphens in the following sentences where they are needed. 1. There at least twenty five ways to complete that project. 2. The team had a pre game meeting in the locker room. 3. The day to day figures looked good for the new company.