Ugh. The misuse of our language just ... plagues me. The poor abused apostrophe! I just cannot STAND it anymore! So, here's a basic lesson in contractions, otherwise known as the proper use of apostrophes.
Note: If you read this blog, then misuse them, I will mock you. You don't want me mocking you.
Ah... the apostrophe. So misunderstood, the little guy, but why? It's really not that tough to use 'em correctly! Apostrophes are used in two cases: as possessives (If your father owns a cat, it's "Dad's cat") and in contractions, to substitute for a dropped letter ("you are" becomes "you're").
Contractions
In contractions, they are used to indicate a missing letter or letters. For example:
- "I can't" instead of "I cannot"
- "I don't" instead of "I do not"
- "it's" instead of "it is"
- "they're" instead of "they are"
Possession
Apostrophes are also used to indicate possession. For example:
- The dog's bone
- The company's logo
- Jones's bakery (or Joneses' bakery if the bakery is owned by more than one Jones)
... but please note that the possessive form of "it" does not take an apostrophe any more than "ours," "yours" or "hers" do.
Apostrophes are NEVER ever used to denote plurals! Common examples of such abuse are:
- "Banana's for sale" should read "Bananas for sale"
- "New CD's just in!" should read "New CDs just in!"
- "Buy your Xmas tree's here!" should read "Buy your Xmas trees here!"
Note: Special care must be taken with "your" and "you're," as they sound the same but are used quite differently:
- "your" is possessive as in "this is your pen"
- "you're" is short for "you are" as in "you're coming over to my house"
If you're confused about "your" vs. "you're," substitute "you are" and see if it works. If it does,
use "you're".
Also, while we're at it, let's talk about "there," "they're" and "their."
- "There" is a place. "We went there for food."
- "They're" is short for "they are."
- "Their" is a possessive, as in "their shoes."
Got it?
