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Where to start... You have to get these right, or you look dim. Nothing sets off righteous self satisfaction more than someone catching you with an apostrophe in the wrong place. There are good reasons too: In this issue: dead boys pictures is nonsense or even alarming without boy's.
Possessives
The golden rule here is that the apostrophe goes after the owner/s and you should never end up with a non-existent word before the apostrophe:
The customer's invoice. (one customer)
The customers' invoices. (several customers)
A child's toy. (one child)
Children's toy. (not childrens' toys because childrens is nonsense)
James's invoice. (although you're probably OK with James' invoice)
Plurals
I have a few books is correct so you don't need an apostrophe for the similar
I have a few CDs. Acronyms are simply written with a lower case s on the end if you want them to be plural. Numbers are different: they came in 2's and 3's is strictly correct, but you should write twos and threes anyway, and I personally prefer 1990s for years.
Contractions
Who's going? (who is)
Whose hankie is this?
It's alive! (it is)
Its main obsession is its dinner (insane but true – the possessive its)
Finally, some apostrophe puzzles if you're feeling like it (answers below):
- seven months gestation
- nine months pregnancy
- six months pregnant
- Phillipa Jones books covers
- he was the couples friend.
- seven months' gestation (a gestation of seven months)
- nine months' pregnancy (a pregnancy of nine months)
- six months pregnant (a 6-month pregnancy – no apostrophe)
- Phillipa Jones' books' covers (assuming several books)
- he was the couple's friend (friend of one couple)
- he was the couples' friend. (friend of several couples)
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