Apostrophe’s Castastrophe

Unfortunately, so many advertisers and people are using  –‘s (apostrophe -s) to make nouns plural. Maybe it’s because the writer doesn’t remember how to spell the plural form of the noun. Or maybe it’s because the writer has seen -‘s used incorrectly so many times, that it looks normal. Either way, using an apostrophe to make a singular noun plural is a bad use of English.

Try this printable worksheet, and see if you can use the apostrophe correctly.

The correct use of the apostrophe falls into two categories:

CONTRACTIONS

The apostrophe signals that a letter or letters are removed. See some examples below:

  • I am = I’m
  • he is not = he isn’t
  • have not = haven’t
  • can not = can’t

POSSESSIVES

Possessives show that something belongs to someone or something. See some examples below:

  • The student’s book was on the desk.
  • The teacher read the class her students’ favorite story.
  • The car’s exhaust system has a hole in it.
  • The cars’ exhaust systems were recalled by the manufacturer.

VISUAL EXPLANATION

Apostrophes The Story of Bob and Muffin

by MKayMann.

From Visually.