1. Bills junky second-hand Ford was once Jerrys new pride and joy.

2. Wed like to go with you to see the Farm Expo, but mother said we cant.

3. To improve your speech, you need to stop adding " "wells," "you knows," and "uhs."

Notice something strange about the above three sentences? That tiny little mark, the apostrophe ', is missing in each, and its absence causes confusion.

Apostrophe Shows Possession

In sentence number 1, for instance, we have failed to use the rule add an apostrophe ', or an apostrophe and an s ('s) to show possession. We are talking about Bill's car that was once Jerry's car. Without the apostrophe in the opening word, "Bill's," our reader may think we are talking about debts-bills.

Singular Ownership

In most cases, we add " 's " to show ownership:

• Jerry's car
• Larry's problem
• the boy's bicycle
• the chicken's feathers

Plural Ownership

But consider the following examples:

• the boys' clubhouse
• the chickens' coop
• the men's team ("men" is already plural)

If the word already ends in "s," we may add just the apostrophe, as in the first two examples chickens' of the plurals above, or as in below:

• the Jones' house
• the writers' convention
• the United Nations' charter

Words that Show Possession without the Apostrophe

A few words that can show possession without an apostrophe. They are pronouns and include:

• its, his, hers, ours, yours, and theirs.

Apostrophe Indicates Omission of Letters

In sentence number 2 of our faulty examples, we are violating the rule that states you should use an apostrophe to show the omission of letters in words or numbers.

Notice how the word "we'd" (we would) becomes the word "wed" (to marry) with the apostrophe missing. Quite a difference in meaning!

When we omit a letter or letters and add an apostrophe, the words we shorten from two into one are called contractions. Look over these examples:

• we'd (we would) - can't (cannot) - who's (who is)
• I'm (I am) - you're (you are) - he's (he is)
• shan't (shall not) - won't (will not) - that's (that is)
• would've (would have) - should've (should have)

We use contractions constantly. The only time we should avoid them is in formal writing or speaking.

In sentence number 3 of our faulty examples, we are violating the rule use " 's" to form the plural of letters, numbers, and words used as words.

1. "R's" are difficult for young children to pronounce.

2. Count off by 3's.

3. Have you ever heard the old expression, "Mind your p's and q's"?

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