1. Apostrophes ‘ Why do we have them? When should they be used? Test your
own knowledge
and understanding
in this
presentation. ‘
Do these
little
punctuation marks
catch you out?
Here we will be finding out
all about apostrophes.

2. Don’t I’m do not I am Omission
An apostrophe can be used to show the place of a missing letter or letters in a word.
Don’t
The missing letter is ‘o’ do
not
The missing letter is ‘a’
I’m I am

5. If we start with a singular noun
Possession
An apostrophe can also be used to show that one thing belongs to something or someone else. This is known as the apostrophe of possession.
If we start with a singular noun
the dog
then we we just add ‘s
the dog’s tail

6. If the noun we start with is plural
Possession
If the noun we start with is plural
the dogs
then we just add an apostrophe after the s
the dogs’ tails
Some plurals do not end in s, and so we add ‘s
the men’s coats

9. James’ new shoes or James’s new shoes
Possession
Proper nouns that end in ‘s’ can use either apostrophe+s or just an apostrophe.
James’ new shoes or James’s new shoes
Mr Davies’ cat or Mr Davies’s cat
These possessive pronouns do not use apostrophes:
yours his hers its ours theirs
Short for ‘it is’
possessive pronoun
NOTE: The bird folded its wing.
It’s a long way to go.

12. Plenary
Apostrophes
can be used
to show when
one thing belongs
to another
(possession).
Knowing why
you are using
apostrophes
will help you
to avoid
errors.
Apostrophes
can be used
in place of
missing letters
(omission).