Looking at the computer keyboard, you may have thought about the apostrophe - and it seems like you saw it all the time among all sorts of quotes and dashes, and probably the right thing - but you almost never had to use it in real life. Just like MS Access in MS Office. Today we will talk in more detail about this “single quote” - especially since it plays a prominent role in the English language.
I’ll make a reservation right away that from the point of view of the Russian language, it’s wrong to call an apostrophe a punctuation mark - punctuation marks separate words in a sentence, and an apostrophe (together with a hyphen and an accent mark) is used to form words, therefore it belongs to a completely different group. However, in English there are no such strictness - there, almost everything that is not a letter can be safely called a punctuation mark. So let's not dwell on the formalities and move on to the use of the apostrophe in English.
Apostrophe when abbreviating one or more letters
Let's start with a simple one - the use of an apostrophe when one or more letters are “lost” from the word. Even if you are just starting to learn the language, you have probably already noticed the ubiquitous I’m, you’ll, don’t, can’t. Or even something like shouldn't've, although for the first couple of years of learning English, I would have crossed the street at the sight of such a monster. Deciphering such abbreviations is in any textbook: I'm = I am, you'll = you will, don't = do not, and so on. Even the terrible shouldn’t’ve turns out to be strict but fair should not have, so there’s nothing to be afraid of here.
I'll be back. I'll come back. (Terminator).
So the first case: where a letter or even part of a word is abbreviated, especially with pronouns or modal verbs, we put an apostrophe. We continue, further it will be more interesting.
Possessive
The next use of the apostrophe is the formation of the possessive case, the possessive case. The possessive is the one that shows ownership: who owns or refers to what you are talking about.
If you are now frantically going through the cases of the Russian language in your head, trying to remember which of them is possessive - relax, formally there is no such thing in Russian. In fact, the role of the possessive case is played by the genitive case: the house (whose?) of Vasya/Petya/Masha, in form coincides with the (whom/what?) genitive case.
So in English, an apostrophe is needed to form the possessive case, in other words, to indicate ownership. This is done as follows: just add an apostrophe and the letter s to the noun:
This is Jack's house. This is Jack's house.
One man's trash is another man's treasure. What is rubbish to one is treasure to another. (literally "one man's trash is another's treasure")
Please note that “ownership” does not have to mean “I bought it, now it’s mine”, but rather “refers to”, that is, in the broadest sense of the word. There is no difference with the Russian language here - “White Sun of the Desert” is not at all about the fact that the desert took possession of the sun, and the heroes of “Vacations of Pertrov and Vasechkin” did not become owners of the summer break in their studies.
Hey look. This is John's school. Look, this is John's school (while it is unlikely that John owns an educational institution, most likely, he only studies there).
This is my sister's husband. This is my sister's husband (and not that he belongs to her).
Difficulty number 1. None of this applies to pronouns.
Exactly. I hope that you have already memorized possessive pronouns at school: I - my, you - your, he - his and so on. Therefore, there will be no difficulties here - none of them need apostrophes at all. Especially insidious in this sense is the pronoun its ( Dog wags its tail. The dog wags its tail) - no, no, but somewhere you want to write it as it's. The problem is that it’s = it is, and is used in completely different cases, using it in the sense of “belonging to it” would be completely wrong.
By the way, confusing its/it’s with your/you’re, their/they’re is one of the most common mistakes made by native speakers themselves. An excellent motivation to understand this topic properly, in order to show off in front of an American or an Englishman on occasion. We will definitely analyze this topic in more detail in one of the future articles. For now, remember: no apostrophes in possessive pronouns.
Difficulty number 2. What about the plural?
Do you still remember in English? That's right, by adding s at the end of the word. What happens - and belonging to something and multiplicity are formed in the same way? Here's the problem! And if you need to say that something in the plural belongs to someone or something? Write s twice? No, there is no need for a double s, but there is this rule: the first s of the plural remains, then an apostrophe is added to indicate ownership and ... everything: dogs' (referring to dogs), houses' (referring to houses), etc. .
So how is it all? It will sound exactly the same! After all, when you talk to a live person, subtitles do not appear in the air, you can’t tell by ear where the “boy’s toy” (boy’s toy) and the “boys’ toy” (boys’ toy)!
And if several such possessives go one after another? For example, here is a slightly exaggerated but grammatically perfect example:
My sister's friend's money- my sister's friend's money
My sister's friends' money- money of my sister's friends
My sisters' friend's money- my sisters' friend's money
My sisters' friends' money- the money of my sisters' friends
And indeed - all four options sound exactly the same. The solution to this problem is that there is no solution. You just have to come to terms with this. On the other hand, it's not that scary. In real life, situations where the plural and the possessive, combined, are taken out of context and attack you from around the corner are rare.
No apostrophe needed: plural
To close the gestalt using apostrophes, let's mention the plurality of nouns again. If you are just pluralizing nouns (apples, people, planets) the apostrophe is not needed at all. Dogs - dogs, cats - cats, pets - pets. Even if the noun ends in a vowel, this is not a reason to add an apostrophe to it: tomatoes - tomatoes, bananas - bananas. But the addition of an apostrophe in this case is another popular mistake of native speakers, as well as a reason for the disappointment of the guardians of the purity of the English language.
But there can be exceptions to this simple rule. Separate words used in the plural can confuse the reader, so they are allowed to be written with an apostrophe. This, for example, individual letters or words - in the case when you mean exactly the letters or words, and not the ideas that they express.
Dot the i's and cross the t's Dot the i's (and cross out all the t's). When I was little, I still could not figure out what the point of dotting the “and”. Firstly, all “and” will then change to “th”, and secondly, what “th” has at the top is not quite a point, but a squiggle. All points over i were dotted when I learned about the English equivalent of this saying –
the crossed-out t's and the dotted i's really cleared things up.
No but's no if's- no answers. Literally - no “buts”, no “ifs”.
So, the apostrophe is a rare guest in the Russian language, more and more falling into translated books - be it the adventures of d'Artagnan or the stories of O'Henry. Another thing is the English language - there the apostrophe will occur in almost every sentence. But do not be afraid: if you do not get into the subtleties, the rules for using apostrophes are quite simple:
So, an apostrophe is needed if:
lost a letter I'm, he'll, it's
want to say that something belongs to someone: John's house
belongs to the plural: boys' mother
But, the apostrophe is not needed if it is:
regular plural: dogs
possessive pronoun: its
English belongs to the category of analytical languages: grammatical connections in it are expressed not by changing the word and adding various morphemes (prefixes, suffixes, endings) to it, but by using various auxiliary words - prepositions, modal and auxiliary verbs. And therefore there are not so many endings in English - only three: -s (-es), -ed And -ing. For comparison, Russian is a synthetic language, and it is morphemes that carry the grammatical load in it.
So, let's look at the most common cases of using English endings.
Ending -s (-es)
The ending -s (-es) can be found in the following cases:
Plural Nouns
Almost all nouns are pluralized by adding -s (-es). For example:
dog - dog s
book - book s
When a word ends in -ss, -x, -z, -ch, -sh, or -o, the ending takes the form -es. For example:
Church—church es
box es
tomato - tomato es
Verbs in the 3rd person singular in Present Simple tense
It is used when it comes to events that occur constantly, every day, systematically. It uses the base form of the verb, and in the 3rd person singular (he, she, it) also adds the ending -s (-es) as a verb ending. For example:
She play s tennis every weekend. She plays tennis every weekend.
Sometimes my grandmother watch es soap operas. Sometimes my grandmother watches soap operas.
Possessive case of nouns
By and large, the possessive case ending should be considered separately, since it has a different history and is written through apostrophe ("). For example:
John 's car - John's car
My daughter "s book - my daughter's book
If the word is in or initially ends in -s, only an apostrophe is placed at the end of the word. For example:
Her parent s" house - her parents' house
Jame s' coat - James's coat
At the same time, the ending is read in full in all cases: [‘pɛːr (ə) ntsiz], [‘ dʒeɪmziz].
Ending -ed
Second form of the regular verb
This form is used to express . For example:
yesterday he paint ed the window frame. Yesterday he painted the window frame.
Third form of the regular verb (past participle)
Used in - Present Perfect, Past Perfect and others. For example:
She has live ed here since childhood. She has been living here since childhood.
The rain had stopp ed when we left home. The rain stopped when we left the house.
The past participle often acts as a definition.
For example:
Clos ed door - closed door
well-dress ed woman - a well-dressed woman
Ending -ing
Fourth form of any verb (present participle)
As you know, the fourth form of the verb is used in the group of continuous tenses. For example:
She is sleep ing now. - She's sleeping now. (Present Continuous)
Yesterday at six I was wash ing my car. Yesterday at 6 I was washing the car. (Past Continuous)
The present participle can also play the role of a definition. For example:
bark ing dog - barking dog
Bloom ing tree - flowering tree
Gerund / verbal adjective
swimm ing is good for health. - Swimming is good for health.
I like to eat ing outdoors. — I like to eat outdoors.
Learning the rules for using the English apostrophe is very important, because there is no such punctuation mark in Russian. Let's look at the main nuances of this topic.
The apostrophe in is used in three cases:
- Formation of the possessive form of nouns
- Indication of omitted letters in words
- lowercase letters
Before using a possessive noun, transform it into a phrase like of the... and make sure to use . For example:
- the girl's dress = the dress of the girl
- two weeks’ trip = the trip of two weeks
If the noun following the specified construction of the, means a building, object or piece of furniture, then the apostrophe is not used with a possessive noun:
- room of the office = office room
- hood of the car = car hood
- leg of the chair = chair leg
After making sure that you still need to use a possessive noun, follow the rules below for its formation.
Apostrophe and singular nouns
This must be done even if the noun . For example:
- the uncle's house
- James's appointment
With in the plural, an apostrophe is used at the end after -s:
- The Watsons' party was well arranged. This is about family. Watson generally.
Apostrophe and plural nouns
A plural noun that does not end in -s appends an apostrophe ‘s. If the noun ends in -s, then only the apostrophe ‘ is added at the end of the word:
- the mice's behavior
- the women's way of thought
- two friends' journey
- ten swans' migration
Apostrophe ‘s with compound compound words
With, the standard rules for using the apostrophe apply:
- Your sister-in-law's dress is very fashionable.
Double attraction
If attraction occurs to several nouns at once, then an apostrophe should be used with the last of them:
- Jane and Julia's presentation
Apostrophe and omission of letters in words
In English, the apostrophe is often used when abbreviating words. An abbreviation is usually called a word (or), in which one or more letters (numbers) have been omitted. The apostrophe just indicates the place of such an omission.
Abbreviations in English are typical for and are not officially accepted in the letter. Let's look at examples of how an apostrophe is used instead of omitted letters:
- doesn't = does not
- we're = we are
- she'll = she will
- couldn't = could not
- ’90 = 1990
Plural Formation of Lowercase Letters
The apostrophe is also used in English to pluralize individual lowercase letters, although this is more of a typographical rule than a grammatical one. In such cases, an 's is placed after lowercase letters. Here is an example of a famous typographical rule:
- Working with printing press mind your p's and q's.
When forming the plural of capital letters, numbers and other symbols, the apostrophe is not required. Examples:
- &s - try to use as few ampersands as possible.
- the 1970s - the years from 1970 to 1979.
- He bought two Samsung Galaxy S3s.
When You Shouldn't Use an Apostrophe
In English, possessive pronouns (my, ours, yours, his, her, its) are used without an apostrophe. Examples:
- her umbrella
- my cat
The ability to use the English apostrophe will be very useful to you! Assignments on this topic are often found in entrance exams. What new did you learn from our article? Share in the comments!
What do we know about the apostrophe other than that it exists in English? Let's be honest, almost nothing. This topic is not explained in textbooks, so the knowledge of how to use the apostrophe is quite fragmentary for many. The apostrophe is used not only in English, but in many languages. For example, in Russian it is found in proper names of foreign origin, to separate the letters O and D (Jeanne d'Arc, o'Neill) and in cases where a Russian ending is added to a word written in a foreign language: emails, HR 's - most often it is slang of social networks and the Internet.
In Ukrainian and Belarusian, the apostrophe replaces the solid sign and performs a purely phonetic separating function.
In English, the apostrophe has more functions and meanings. Therefore, accustomed to the apostrophe in phonetic roles, we often put the apostrophe out of place, without fully understanding why.
In fact, there are no special tricks and the use of an apostrophe. The apostrophe has two main functions in English:
1. Indicate belonging (the answer to the question Whose?)
2. In abbreviations (show that something is missing in a word or phrase)
Let's start with these functions, and in addition, look at other use cases and exceptions. There will be many interesting and useful things.
Affiliation
Apostrophe - spelling expression of the possessive case (Possessive case). When we add an apostrophe and S to a noun in writing, the meaning of the word and the part of speech change: there was a noun - it became an adjective that answers the question Whose? and indicates that someone owns something.
For most singular nouns and proper names, an apostrophe is added without any changes:
A boy - a boy's hat
a woman - a woman's bag
Ann - Ann's dog
It would seem that everything is simple, but the formation of the possessive case has its own characteristics, difficulties and questions. For example, how do you add an apostrophe S if there is already a plural ending S? When should you add an apostrophe S, and when just an apostrophe? If there are two nouns, which one should I add an apostrophe and S to? What about pronunciation? What's with the articles?
Here we will not dwell on the nuances of the possessive case, because I talked about them in detail in the material. After you finish reading this article, you can go, understand and find answers to all questions about the Possessive Case.
Apostrophe with time markers
In Russian, we say “weekly”, “annual”, “three-monthly”, that is, we form adjectives from the time indicator. In English, this is also possible, with the participation of an apostrophe.
The apostrophe and S are added to the time markers, which become adjectives and answer the question ‘Whose?’, although it is more logical for us to formulate the question as ‘Which?’:
Today - today's weather (today's weather)
three hours - three hours’ delay (three hour delay)
one week - one week's holiday (weekly vacation)
two months - two months’ salary (two months salary)
In fact, this is a special case of using the Possessive Case. Please note that when adding, the same rules apply as when forming the possessive case: if S is already there, only an apostrophe is added. I emphasize once again that all the features of the possessive case and, accordingly, the use of an apostrophe with it, are set out point by point in the article.
Reduction and omission
An apostrophe is an abbreviation. Some authors separate contraction and omission separately. I think that such a division is quite justified. Let's break down the differences between contraction and omission.
An abbreviation is an omission from the pronunciation of one or more sounds in a combination of two words. The English language is full of auxiliary verbs - auxiliary words that are often abbreviated in speech and not pronounced in full. To denote these abbreviations in writing, you need an apostrophe. You are familiar with the examples:
It is - it's
he has - he's
we had - we'd
they would - they'd
You can find a table of the most popular abbreviations of auxiliary verbs in the material on our website. Not only auxiliary verbs are reduced. Often in colloquial English, slang expressions miss individual letters in one word or in combinations of words. In speech, these letters are “swallowed” (which is why it is sometimes so difficult to understand English speech), and in writing, these gaps are filled with an apostrophe:
Rock and roll - rock'n'roll
because - ‘cause
of the clock - o'clock
Apostrophe to abbreviate dates
The apostrophe is used to abbreviate dates. On this occasion, there are different approaches to writing dates. Common spelling: the 1990s. You can meet the 1990 "s. Such options are also acceptable and are often found: the "90s and the 90" s. At the same time, writing the "90" s with two apostrophes will look strange. Sometimes when specifying a specific year, the first two digits are not written, when, from the context, you can understand what century it is about:
The Soviet Union collapsed in "91.
You will learn how to talk about time and dates in English from the article.
Proper names and transliteration
The apostrophe is typical of Irish family names with an O at the beginning:
O'Neil, O'Kelly
In words, names of non-English origin, which are transliterated into English, for example, from Arabic and other languages, you can find apostrophes that preserve the sound of the word. Read more about transliteration from Russian into English.
Apostrophe errors (and a few exceptions)
1. The apostrophe is not used for education. The S/ES ending works here without the apostrophe.
However, note that the apostrophe comes into play when it comes to pluralizing words that are usually not nouns. For example, an apostrophe with letter names:
Let's dot i "s and cross t" s - let's dot the “i”
My d's look like a's - my d's look like a's
The apostrophe is used with the names of numbers in the plural:
2. With possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives ( yours, hers, his, its, ours, theirs) apostrophe is not used, although they also indicate ownership. If you have forgotten the difference between Possessive Adjectives and Possessive Pronouns, I have explained everything clearly with examples.
3. Its or it's is a very common mistake that occurs even at high levels. In English, both options exist. To understand whether an apostrophe is needed or not, we think about the function: is it an accessory or an abbreviation?
Its without an apostrophe is an ownership. Its is a possessive adjective. There is a pronoun it, which refers to animals and inanimate objects. And if “it” belongs to something, then we talk about it using the word its (without the apostrophe):
A dog is looking for its bone.
A cat is cleaning its paws.
Paris is famous for its museums.
It's is short for it is or it has :
It's so hot in the room. - It is so hot in the room.
It's a nice present. - It is a nice present.
It's been a long journey. - It has been a long journey.
How to understand it is or it has? It is followed by an adjective or noun, and after it has is the third form of the verb, because it is .
By the way, the pronoun it as a subject is quite an interesting aspect of the English language. Many sentences begin with it, which is not in Russian, so in order to build English sentences correctly, it is important to understand the essence of the subject it. It happens and . I have explained these two topics in detail in blog articles. I recommend you go and explore.
Let's go back to the apostrophe and recap. An apostrophe in English is used:
- to indicate belonging (Possessive Case) - in abbreviations and omissions (auxiliary verbs, letters in words, dates)
- in proper names and when transliterating from other languages
- to indicate the plural of words that are not usually used as nouns (names of letters and numbers)
I hope this material helped you dot the i (dot i "s and cross t" s) and understand how and when to use an apostrophe in English. I want to remind you that ENGINFORM is open for recruitment in and English.
We teach English via Skype according to individually designed programs, at a time convenient for you, we focus on speaking and writing, analyze mistakes and analyze the nuances of English that are not covered in textbooks.
To try and find out how the training goes - sign up for a free introductory Skype lesson at the bottom of this page and start learning English regularly and effectively.
Good luck in conquering English!
The apostrophe is not used very often in English, and learning the rules for using it will not be difficult. It looks like a comma at the top in English
('). Let's look at the cases of its use and make examples.
To indicate belonging
To say that something belongs to some subject (which can be expressed by a noun, personal pronoun) it is enough to put ‘s’ after this word. Remember how such forms are translated.
This is Mary's car.– This is Mary's car.
Yesterday I saw Jack's dog.– Yesterday I saw Jack's dog.
The classroom’s door is closed.– The classroom door is closed.
The tablet’s battery is low. – The tablet’s battery is low.
Please note that special forms -my, his, their, etc. are used to express possession with personal pronouns.
When a word ends in s
Many nouns, as well as common nouns, end in s(bus, cactus, Christmas, Jones). There are several theories about how to use the Apostrophe in this case - whichever you stick to, choose one option and stick to it, at least within one text.
- Some people say that you need to add 's after the existing one (bus's, cactus's, Christmas's, Jones's).
- Others argue that it is best to add only an apostrophe in such cases (bus',cactus', Christmas', Jones').
Please note: it is wrong to put an apostrophe before an existing s, especially for surnames. For example, if we write Mr. Jone's, then we will change the surname - it turns out that the person's name is Mr.Jone.
Use of Apostrophe
Plural
In the plural (whose indicator, in most cases, is the final s), only an apostrophe is placed after the word. For example:
Table - tables - tables' legs (table legs).
Cat - cats - cats' tails (tails of cats).
Dog - dogs - dogs' eyes (dog eyes).
Note that there are nouns in English that change their form to show the plural. In such cases, 's is added.
Child - children - children's toys (children's toys).
Compound words and combinations
Such cases often cause bewilderment - let's analyze them.
Difficult words
If several or more words are included in one and separated by a hyphen, then 's is placed after the very last word (mother-in-law, mother-in-law's dress).
Multi-subject ownership
If the sentence lists several subjects and specifies one object belonging to them, then ‘ is placed after the last subject in the list. If that last word ends in s or is plural, then the rules apply, but the apostrophe will still be attached to the last word.
Rose and Jack's picture. - Painting by Rosie Jack.
The girls and boys' books. - Books of girls and boys.
Please note: when translating into Russian, the object itself, as a rule, comes first.
- However, if the last subject is expressed by a possessive pronoun, then the apostrophe + s in English is placed after the noun or personal name.
Katie's and my house. - Katie's house and mine.
- If several objects are mentioned as belonging objects, which separately belong to both the first and second subject, then an apostrophe is placed after each of them.
Katie's and Erin's houses are beautiful. - Katie's and Erin's houses are beautiful.
Abbreviations
The English apostrophe is used in abbreviations such as haven't (have not), didn't (did not), wouldn't (would not), they're (they are), you've (you have), etc. .d.
Abbreviations
Of the year
Years are also used with apostrophes - the 1980's (1980s), however, this option can also be found without an apostrophe; the "80s or the 80"s (80s).
Apostrophe with years
To repeat when the so-called “top comma in English” is used in the possessive case, a video lesson will help:
