Apostrophes part 2

What I didn't tell you last week

Hello!

Last week, I wrote about apostrophes for plurals here:

Apostrophes

but I only told you half the story.

Here’s the second half!

Missing letters

The other way we use apostrophes is in things like don’t, she’s and haven’t. I’m sure you know this already but do you know why?

The apostrophe represents a letter or letters which have been missed out. This is really helpful to remember because it will tell you where to put the apostrophe when you’re not sure.

For example, is it does’nt or doesn’t? Well, this is the contracted or shortened form of does not. We take out the O in the middle of not and put an apostrophe in its place, so it’s doesn’t. Now you won’t forget where to put the apostrophe!

Here are some more common contractions:

you’d = you would or you had (be careful when there are two possibilities)
it’s = it is or it has
what’s = what is or what has
don’t = do not
won’t = will not
can’t = cannot (yes, it’s one word)
I’m = I am
I’ll = I will
I’ve = I have
shan’t = shall not (this used to be written as sha’n’t to show all the missing letter but was later replaced by shan’t)
let’s = let us

Warning

Make sure you don’t confuse it’s and its, or you’re and your. Its and your are possessive, like my or his.

Another common mistake to avoid is should of. It’s should HAVE! This happens because should’ve sounds a bit like should of but it’s not good English. This is a mistake that even native speakers make!

More examples

Here are a few more examples of apostrophes to replace missing letters:

o’clock = of the clock (which people used to say but don’t any more)
y’all = you all (American English, especially in the south)
the ’70s = the 1970s
fish ’n’ chips = fish and chips (because that’s how we usually pronounce it!)
’phone = telephone (but this is old-fashioned and most people just write phone nowadays)
’em = them, goin’ = going (you might see these in dialogue or very informal English)
ain’t = am not, are not, is not, have not, or has not
ma’am = madam (although these are not used in the same way - see this blog post for more information.

Can you use apostrophes for plurals?

English learners sometimes use the apostrophe for plurals but this is a mistake. It should be cats, not cat’s, of course.

But even native speakers make this mistake. It’s so common, it even has a name. We call it the greengrocer’s apostrophe. This is because you might see signs that read carrot’s or apple’s when you go to the greengrocer’s or market! As you know, I’m sure, it should be carrots and apples without an apostrophe!

You should only write apple’s with an apostrophe if you want to say is or has. For example:

This apple’s delicious = This apple is delicious

This apple’s been in the fridge = This apple has been in the fridge

So the general rule is not to use an apostrophe before S to make a plural but there are a few exceptions.

You might see:

He got 3 A’s in his exams.
Four 5’s is twenty.
Dad’s in his 80’s.
do’s and don’t’s
V.I.P.’s (V.I.P. = very important person)

I personally prefer:

He got 3 As in his exams.
Four 5s is twenty.
Dad’s in his 80s.
dos and don’ts
VIPs (I’m British and we’re less likely to write V.I.P. with full stops)

I think they look better without the apostrophes. Many style guides would agree with me and some say both forms are possible.

However, with lowercase letters, we do occasionally use an apostrophe, for example:

Dot the i’s and cross the t’s

Without the apostrophe, we have the word is instead of i’s, so we use an apostrophe to avoid confusion. Then we write t’s as well to be consistent.

I think this looks a bit ugly and I might even avoid it by writing it like this:

Dot every i and cross every t!

So, in my opinion, the only time you should use an apostrophe with a plural is if you really have to in order to make it clear! 

I hope you found this helpful!

See you next week,

Katie

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I’m Katie Salter and I teach English online. Thanks for reading my Substack post! My Substack is for anyone who is learning English.

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