The apostrophe [ ' ]

The apostrophe is an important punctuation mark in the English language which is often used incorrectly.

Here are some common incorrect usages of the apostrophe:

Your’s shoes are red.
I went to their’s house
The book’s are on the table.
The flower’s are in the vase.

Contents

Apostrophe Rules Used to show possession Used to show contractions of words.

APOSTROPHE RULES

The apostrophe has two main distinct uses in English.

Used to show possession

The general rule is that the possessive of a singular noun is formed by adding an apostrophe and “s”, whether the singular noun ends in “s” or not. Let’s take some apostrophe examples:

Bat owned by Tom – Tom’s bat
Doll owned by Sarah – Sarah’s doll
The children’s room
The men’s work
The babies’ crying
A doctor’s patient

Used to show contractions of words

A contraction is a shortened version of the written and spoken forms of a word, syllable, or word group, created by omission of internal letters and sounds. You can use contractions to shorten a word by removing one letter or more and substituting an apostrophe in the same spot. Let’s take some apostrophe examples to make it more clearly:

are not = aren’t
can not = can’t
could not = couldn’t
do not = don’t
does not = doesn’t
did not =  didn’t
he will = he’ll
he would = he’d
he is = he’s
is not = isn’t
it is = it’s
I am = I’m
I will = I’ll
I would = I’d
I have = I’ve
She will = She’ll
She is = She’s…

Example sentences:

It is so hot today – It’s so hot today.
I have not done my homework – I haven’t done my homework.
They are not here yet. – They’re not here yet. 
He said he would see his brother tomorrow. – He said he’d see his brother tomorrow.
There will be trouble when she finds out. – There’ll be trouble when she finds out.
I can not get the cork out of the bottle – can you try? – I can’t get the cork out of the bottle – can you try?