Why do we need an apostrophe and a soft sign. Inserting an apostrophe in Microsoft Word

20.09.2019

An apostrophe is a superscript comma (') that is used in various languages ​​of the world. In Russian, this symbol is in most cases used to display proper names of foreign origin and is placed after the initial elements d', O' and l' (for example, Joan of Arc, O'Hara, d'Artagnan etc.). Also, the apostrophe is used when accumulating foreign words and names that are not transcribed into Russian: "Intel processor", "send by e-mail". But on the other hand, it is impossible to imagine Ukrainian, English, French, Serbian languages ​​without this symbol: somewhere it replaces vowels and consonants, somewhere it conveys the peculiarities of the sound of the next letter, or it is considered a full-fledged letter. But how to put an apostrophe on the keyboard? Let's figure it out!

For Windows

Method number 1. English layout

If you are typing text in the English layout, then it will be very easy for you to put an apostrophe. This symbol is located on the key with the letter "e"(next to "Enter"). Interestingly, Unicode recommends that you use the English single or marrow quote character. Such quotation marks are highly specialized signs and are used mainly in philology.

If you are typing text in Russian, then it is convenient to carry out such an operation only when the apostrophe is not required so often. What to do in this case:

  1. Switch the layout from Russian to English ( Alt + Shift or Ctrl + Shift);
  2. Press the key with the letter "e". An apostrophe will appear in the required place;
  3. Switch the layout from English to Russian in the same way as described in paragraph 1.

Remember that character display depends on the selected font!

Method number 2. Numeric block

An apostrophe can be put in Russian text without switching the keyboard. To do this, use the numeric keypad:


Method number 3. Single quotes

You can print an apostrophe in the Russian layout without switching the language using the same single quotes. In this case, you will also need to activate the digital block. To enter a character, use a combination Alt+0146. Don't forget to deactivate the numeric keypad for further work.

Method number 4. Insert-Symbol

If you are typing text in Word, then you can find the apostrophe in special characters. For this you need:


The apostrophe symbol will automatically be included in the list of previously used icons, so if the apostrophe is needed again soon, it will not be difficult to find it.

Method number 5. Gravis

Gravis is a small stroke above the symbol (ò, è ) , displayed as a back accent. This icon is used in French, Italian, Portuguese, Norwegian, Lithuanian, Macedonian and other languages. In Russian, gravity is rarely used - mainly for translations of ancient books (in particular, the Bible). Gravis coincides in form with the typographic keyboard character of the backtick (`), which occupies an important place in computer science and computer engineering. Print this character in two ways:


In fact, gravity has nothing to do with apostrophes, and therefore its use as a regular apostrophe (eg O'Hara, D'Arc) is only allowed in informal writing.

For OS Mac

Keyboard shortcut for typing an apostrophe on Mac keyboards Shift+Alt+P(setting language is Russian). Do not confuse apostrophe with single quote Alt+], which is typed in the English layout.

That's all. It remains only to remember the most suitable and easiest option for you!

The section is very easy to use. In the proposed field, just enter the desired word, and we will give you a list of its meanings. I would like to note that our site provides data from various sources - encyclopedic, explanatory, word-building dictionaries. Here you can also get acquainted with examples of the use of the word you entered.

Find

Meaning of the word apostrophe

apostrophe in the crossword dictionary

apostrophe

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov

apostrophe

apostrophe, m. (Greek apostrophos - facing backwards). Superscript in the form of a comma, for example: John d "Arc.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova.

apostrophe

A, m. Superscript comma (), e.g. written by Joan of Arc.

New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

apostrophe

m. Superscript comma, usually denoting the omission of a vowel.

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

apostrophe

APOSTROPHE (from the Greek apostrophos - turned to the side or backwards) is a superscript comma used to indicate the omission of a vowel (for example, English don t instead of do not, French l homme). In Russian, it is used in writing some foreign-language proper names.

Apostrophe

(French apostrophe, from Greek arustrophos), superscript comma, is used in alphabetic writing in various functions:

    in French, Italian, English and other languages ​​​​to indicate the omission of a vowel (French l "homme instead of le homme, English don" t instead of do not, etc.),

    in the spelling of the Nenets language to denote glottal stops;

    in transcription to convey the glottal stop (in Semitic and other languages), mitigation of consonants, etc.;

    in Russian graphics it is used in place of a foreign language A. in foreign proper names (Jeanne d "Arc, O" Casey); in the 20s and 30s. was also used instead of ъ (entrance▓ezd instead of entrance).

Wikipedia

Apostrophe

Apostrophe- non-alphabetic spelling mark in the form of a superscript comma ( ), which is used in the alphabetic writing of different languages ​​in various functions.

Apostrophe (diacritic)

Apostrophe- a superscript diacritical sign of Greek writing (in the polytonic orthography used from ancient Greek times to the reforms of the late 20th century) and Cyrillic Church Slavonic writing. It is a combination of the sign of thin aspiration (psili) and heavy stress (varii), looks like ῍. In Church Slavonic, it occurs only above the first letter in a few words, mostly to distinguish it from homographs: e, and, ilk, imzhe, im, ikhzhe, ikh, u, ubo, u, i, yazhe.

Examples of the use of the word apostrophe in the literature.

Apostrophe

Just before shipping Apostrophe the attorney of these Persians got to me and offered me a contract.

Not that she specifically remembered it: she pronounced it instinctively - nature and upbringing made her such that she could not pronounce this word without apostrophe even when the fur was about to fly off her pet.

If I go with apostrophe and I will take care of him and only him there, they will put me on a very decent salary.

Readers of liberal views were outraged apostrophes, prosopopoeia and other rhetorical figures in the works of the young ultra-royalist, and they were not inclined to recognize the poetic merits of his odes.

With such an unexpected apostrophe Prokop was so taken aback that he could not even say a word in reply.

A bad year, there is a payment, there is a payment, the plant is literally cut off, and for Apostrophe some Persians put a mind-boggling amount on the barrel at once.

Good day! I myself am a copywriter and translator, so I work not only in Russian, but also in other languages ​​in which the apostrophe is used more often than in my native speech. This interesting icon looks like this - " ”And it’s not easy for a non-advanced user to figure out how to install it. That's why I decided to write a detailed master class on how to set an apostrophe in different applications and on different keyboards. I hope my handicraft instruction will be useful to someone.

Putting an apostrophe in Word

So, you have a Word document open in front of you and there is text in which you need to type an apostrophe. You can do this in the following two ways:

  1. Type in the sentences you want and then check the keyboard layout. Should be our native Cyrillic. Next, you need to carry out the following actions: hold down the Ctrl key and double-click on the key with the letter "E". The desired and cherished apostrophe will appear before the cursor.
  2. Put the coveted icon » You can do this without switching the keyboard layout, for this you use the number keys on the side of the keyboard. We press the Alt key and then on the numbers that go under the Num Lock key, we type the combination - 039. An apostrophe appears.

It is worth noting that it is important to type the number combination in the specified part of the keyboard; using the buttons with numbers in the top row will not give the desired result. It is for this reason that on some laptop models it will not work to write an apostrophe in this way.

English layout

If you have an English keyboard or you work with text written in this language, there should be no problems with setting the apostrophe. On the English keyboard, there is a special key for this purpose, located next to the "Enter" key. We press and we get to make an apostrophe without the hassle and problems.


When working with the English test, everything is also simple. The apostrophe symbol is on the key with the letter "E". We make sure that we have the Latin alphabet turned on and just press this key in the right place in the text. That's it, the coveted "'" icon appears. The same operation is convenient to carry out when the Russian text occasionally requires the setting of this character.

Apostrophe when working with text in Ukrainian

Where is the apostrophe on the Ukrainian keyboard? In texts in Ukrainian, the apostrophe character is quite common. If you have an adapted keyboard, then on it the symbol should be located on a separate button - where the letter “ Yo».

If the keyboard is not adapted, we proceed as follows: switch the language to Ukrainian, make sure that the switch has taken place, and then simply click on the Russian letter " Yo". The desired icon should appear. I talked about all the ways to set an apostrophe in different applications and with different language layouts. These methods (except one) work both on a computer keyboard and on a laptop keyboard.

When studying English, Russian-speaking people have to learn the rules for using one special icon - the apostrophe. What is it, when is it used, and in what languages ​​is it still used? Let's find the answers to all these questions!

Origin of the term

The considered word "apostrophe" came to Russian and other foreign languages ​​from ancient Greek. The term apostrophos that existed in it was formed from the words: apo (from) and strepho (I turn). So literally this noun is translated as "turned from something." Most likely, the shape of this very icon was meant.

In the Slavic languages, this term came through the mediation of French, in which it is very often used to this day.

Apostrophe - what is it?

This name refers to a linguistic character that looks like a comma (') or a single quote ("), but, unlike them, is placed at the top of the line.

The apostrophe sign is widely used in different languages ​​of the world, but often for different purposes. Let's look at the most famous of them.

Ukrainian apostrophe

As you know, in such as Belarusian and Ukrainian there is no solid separating sign (ъ). Instead, the considered graphic icon (') is used to signal the separate pronunciation of sounds.

Most often, it is put when writing the so-called Ukrainian "words with an apostrophe" - terms in which labial consonants and "r" are written before the diphthongs "i", "u", "є", "ї". For example: p'yatirka, tim'yachko, pir'ya and the like.

Also, this sign is used after prefixes or the first part of compound words that end in a solid consonant, before the above diphthongs. As an example, we can cite such words with an apostrophe: about "єm (volume), about" Java (announcement), pіd "їzd (entrance).

It is worth noting an interesting fact: after the Reform of the Russian language in 1918, for almost two decades, the apostrophe was widely used in all spheres as a separating sign. Therefore, all three of the above Ukrainian words in Russian were also written with an apostrophe. And only in 1956 "b" became the only separating character in the Russian language. At the same time, Ukrainian and Belarusian completely lost it, but at the same time retained """.

What role does the apostrophe play in Russian

In addition to the above cases of using the studied sign in the Ukrainian language, there is one more. And it is also used in Russian. We are talking about writing words of foreign origin.

Most often this applies to proper names. For example, the name of a famous British writer is Peter O'Donnell, or the name of the main character in the movie Gone with the Wind is Scarlett O'Hara.

In addition to the above case, the use of an apostrophe is acceptable in Russian when it is necessary to separate Russian endings or suffixes from the initial part of a word written in Latin: “My mother finally understood how to use E-mail correctly.”

Use of the apostrophe in English and other foreign languages

Having learned the answer to the main question “Apostrophe - what is it?”, And also having considered the cases when it is used in Russian and Ukrainian, it is worth paying attention to the use of this sign in other languages.


  • In French, this sign is widely used to indicate missing vowels. For example: le homme - l'homme (man).
  • In German, in order to avoid confusion with words that end in the sound [s], this sign on the letter helps to indicate the genitive case in them. For example: Thomas (Thomas - nominative) and Thomas "(Thomas - genitive).
  • In Esperanto, the apostrophe is used to shorten the article la: l" kor" (la koro). Also in this language, this graphic sign is used to indicate the elision of the final vowel in nouns in the Nominative case of the singular.
  • In the Macedonian language, the apostrophe plays an even more important role. There it denotes a neutral vowel sound in separate dialectisms: "k'smet" (kismet), "s'klet" (cut).

The use of the apostrophe in transcription

Knowing that an apostrophe is what it is in a letter, it is worth figuring out what role it plays in transcription.

In most cases like this, the sign is used to indicate the place of stress.

In many Slavic languages ​​(including Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian), an apostrophe in transcription denotes the softness of the preceding consonant, but not the soft sign, as some claim. Since this sign is "mute" and signals only the softness of the previous sound. As an example, consider the word "July": [iy "st"].

In conclusion, it is worth noting that when working in text editors, it is not always convenient to switch the layout of languages ​​\u200b\u200bin order to put an apostrophe (it is only in the English font). Therefore, there is an easier way: the Alt key is pressed and at the same time the code "39" or "146" is typed on a separate numeric keypad.

0 Some people who are learning English, or just trying to type on the keyboard, come across various symbols and icons, the meaning of which is not always clear to them. Needless to say, beginners in any business generally have a hard life. Therefore, to facilitate your work, a website was created that has already helped tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people find answers. Today we will talk about such a strange sign as Apostrophe, which means you can read a little below.
However, before I continue, I would like to advise you to look at a couple more articles on education and science. For example, what is Nonsense, what does Blitz mean, how to understand the word Essay, what does Pipidastra mean, etc.
So let's continue what does apostrophe mean? This term was borrowed from the ancient Greek language "ἀπόστροφος", and is translated as "turned back".

Apostrophe- this is a rather rare symbol in the form of a superscript comma ( ), which is put in place of the missing letter. For example, the French word "la arithmetique", can be written using the apostrophe "l'arithmetique"


Apostrophe- sometimes used figuratively, and means an unexpected sharp appeal to someone or a rude trick


Example:

We spent Christmas Day with Ben "s parents. (We spent Christmas with Ben's parents.)

This book is the fruit of 15 years "research. (This book is the fruit of 15 years of research.)

Simon has a clear-sighted vision of the company's future. (Simon has a clear vision of the company's future.)

Our neighbor "s baby cries morning, noon and night. (Our neighbor's child wakes up in the morning, afternoon and night.)

I "m sure my views on marriage are colored by my parents" divorce. (I'm sure my views on marriage are colored by my parents' divorce.)

Apostrophe is a punctuation mark used in abbreviations to replace missing letters. The abbreviation "we" ll means "we will", with an apostrophe replacing "wi". It can also demonstrate ownership of something, like "Mary" s car ". The apostrophe indicates that the car belongs to Mary.

To pronounce correctly apostrophe in English, the stress falls on the second syllable: "uh-POSS-truh-fee". In addition to punctuation marks, the apostrophe can also be a literary symbol in which the author of the poem is speaking to someone who is not there. A famous example of this is Walt Whitman "s - "O Captain! My Captain!" in which he addresses the late Abraham Lincoln: "O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells" "O Captain! my captain! stand up and hear the bells."

By reading this article, you have learned what does apostrophe mean in English, and now you will represent the meaning of this compound word.



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