Tuesday Tips: Apostrophes!
photo credit: Dvortygirl
The best style is the style you don’t notice. ~Somerset Maugham
Today, we begin our series with the apoplectic apostrophe!
First, from the Oxford Companion to English Literature:
There never was a golden age in which the rules for the possessive apostrophe were clear-cut and known, understood and followed by most educated people.
Surprised? Thinking just how tricky can this little mark be? That’s what I thought, until I married a man with the last name of… Galles!
So, let’s get started! The apostrophe will be covered over the course of the next three weeks, beginning with the most common mix-ups:
The apostrophe commonly indicates missing letters or numbers, so it is used in contractions.
- It’s = It + is (NOT possessive) It’s Wednesday today!
- They’re = They + are They’re happy to be learning apostrophes!
- Who’s = Who + is Who’s ready to use apostrophes correctly?
- You’re = You + are You’re learning how to use apostrophes!
Questions? Leave me a comment!
That’s all for this week! See you next Tuesday for more apostrophe fun… 
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We can say it and teach it a million times, but I still ponder: why is it’s so difficult for people?? Why not take the one second to ask yourself: do I mean “it is” or not? Do I mean to say, “The dog ate it’s (it is) supper”? Why no! I actually mean to use “its”!
Aaah, that will go in the list of unanswerable questions.