Handling Apostrophes
and Abbreviations
Apostrophes have two purposes. They can be used to show
possession or to indicate the omission of a letter or letters.
Showing possession
When a noun has something belonging to it, an apostrophe is
placed at the end of the word and the ‘possession’ follows.
When a singular noun shows possession, the apostrophe is
put at the end of the word and an ‘s’ is added.
The horse’s coat shone.
Clive’s cricket ball broke the window.
The dog tore the child’s coat.The apostrophe comesbeforethe ‘s’ when singular.Coping with the ‘s’
If there is already an ‘s’ at the end of the word, the rule still
applies. Some words end in double ‘s’.
The princess’s gown was the most beautiful at the ball.
The witness’s evidence was false.6
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