The blame ismine.
These books arehers. (no apostrophe)
The first prize washis. (no apostrophe)
Theirs was the glory. (no apostrophe)
The success wasours. (no apostrophe)
That house istheirs. (no apostrophe)Note especially
The cat cleaned its whiskers (no apostrophe).
not
The cat cleaned it’s whiskers.◆ ‘Its’ possessive doesnotuse an apostrophe.
◆ ‘It’s’ is used only when letters are omitted.
◆ ‘It’s’ means ‘it is’ or ‘it has’.
Abbreviating words
When writing formally, it is better not to abbreviate. Write
the words out in full. However, it is, of course, acceptable to
abbreviate when writing dialogue.
Anabbreviationis when letters are missed out. Sometimes
two words are combined into one. An apostrophe is placed
where the letter or letters have been omitted:
‘cannot’ becomes ‘can’t’70 / PART ONE: THE BASICS