# Apostrophe (')
The apostrophe (') is a punctuation mark in English that marks omitted letters in contractions and marks possessive relationships between words, and is otherwise not used, with a small set of exceptions such as the plurals of single letters. It appeared in English in the 16th century, imported from the [Continent](https://www.edgepedia.org/continent), and its rules are now set differently by the major style guides, which disagree in particular on how to form the possessive of a singular proper noun ending in s.[1](https://arxiv.org/abs/1002.0479) • [2](https://www.axios.com/2023/11/23/apostrophe-grammar-rules-how-to)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Core functions | Shows possession and marks contractions; style guides agree it should not make nouns plural[3](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes) |
| Singular possessive | Add 's: the committee's report, the bus's passengers[3](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes) |
| Plural possessive | Plural nouns ending in s take an apostrophe only: both committees' reports; plurals not ending in s take 's: our children's education[3](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes) |
| Proper nouns ending in s | Guides differ: Chicago and MLA write Styles's, Athens's; AP and Harvard Law write Styles', Athens'[4](https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/chicago-manual-style-explained) • [5](https://style.mla.org/apostrophes-three-ways/) • [6](https://hls.harvard.edu/communications-office/hls-style-guides/editorial-style-guide/) |
| Its vs it's | Its is the possessive determiner and takes no apostrophe; it's is the contraction of it is or it has[3](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes) |
| Plural exception | Apostrophes form plurals of single letters (mind your p's and q's) but not grades or capitalized abbreviations (three As, MAs and PhDs)[5](https://style.mla.org/apostrophes-three-ways/) |
| Character encoding | U+0027 APOSTROPHE is the keyboard character; when text is set, U+2019 RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK is preferred as the apostrophe glyph[7](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/UnicodeStandard-16.0.pdf) |
| History | Imported into English from the Continent in the 16th century; first used in the 1500s[1](https://arxiv.org/abs/1002.0479) |
## Possession
When the first of two consecutive nouns carries an apostrophe, it signals a relationship between them. Style guides collect all such relationships under the heading of 'possessives', sometimes called 'genitives', even when the relationship is not ownership in the strict sense; the Australian Style Manual's examples range from Ariah's desk to the minister's chief of staff and a winter's morning.[3](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes)
**Placement follows the possessor.** The apostrophe goes directly after the noun doing the possessing, and the form then depends on that noun:[3](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes)
- A singular noun takes 's, even after words ending in s or z such as bus and kibbutz.
- A plural noun ending in s takes the apostrophe alone: the Joneses' submission, the Sanchezes' security passes.
- A plural noun not ending in s takes 's: the sheep's wool.
- A singular compound noun takes 's after the whole compound: the attorney-general's speeches.
- In a multiword phrase whose last word is a plural ending in s, the apostrophe alone is added to that last word: the [Australian Bureau of Statistics](https://www.edgepedia.org/australian-bureau-of-statistics)' office, the United States' representatives.
**Joint versus separate possession.** When several people possess something together, one apostrophe marks the last noun only: Smith and Miller's report, my mom and dad's house. When they possess things separately, each noun is marked: Smith's and Johnson's studies.[3](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes) • [5](https://style.mla.org/apostrophes-three-ways/) MLA also recognizes the double possessive, in which the apostrophe combines with an of phrase: a friend of Steve's.[5](https://style.mla.org/apostrophes-three-ways/)
**Singular names ending in s.** This is the sharpest divergence among guides. Chicago and MLA add a second s and follow the general singular rule, giving [Harry Styles](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-styles)'s tour and Diogenes's philosophy; AP, [Harvard Law School](https://www.edgepedia.org/harvard-law-school)'s editorial guide, and the GSA add only an apostrophe, giving Styles', Chris' dog, [Achilles' heel](https://www.edgepedia.org/achilles-heel), Congress' action, and PBS' or FAS' resources.[4](https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/chicago-manual-style-explained) • [6](https://hls.harvard.edu/communications-office/hls-style-guides/editorial-style-guide/) • [8](https://www.gsa.gov/reference/gsa-web-style-guide/written-style) The Australian Style Manual adds 's even where it would not be pronounced (Burns's report, Laos's population), while Oxford advises rephrasing when adding 's would make a name hard to pronounce.[3](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes) • [9](https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/the-university/brand/style-guide/punctuation)
**Words that are not strictly possessive.** Descriptive phrases and adjectival time periods take no apostrophe under the Australian Style Manual: 6 months retired, 5 months pregnant, and its preferred 6 weeks time and 3 months wages. When a time reference is singular and genuinely possessive, the apostrophe stays: a day's work, one week's vacation.[3](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes) • [5](https://style.mla.org/apostrophes-three-ways/) Where a plural word that does not end in s serves as a descriptive phrase, 's is still required: a children's hospital, a people's republic.[6](https://hls.harvard.edu/communications-office/hls-style-guides/editorial-style-guide/) When a noun simply modifies another noun, the apostrophe may be dropped altogether: a teachers union.[5](https://style.mla.org/apostrophes-three-ways/)
## Contractions
In a contraction, the apostrophe sits exactly where letters have been omitted, not where the space fell between the original words: don't for do not, you're for you are, ma'am for madam, and, with the apostrophe at the head of the word, 'til for until, which should be typed as a closing single quotation mark, not an opening one.[9](https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/the-university/brand/style-guide/punctuation) • [5](https://style.mla.org/apostrophes-three-ways/) The apostrophe also marks omitted figures, and the OECD restricts contractions to informal text, allowing them in contexts with character limits such as social media.[8](https://www.gsa.gov/reference/gsa-web-style-guide/written-style) • [10](https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-style-guide-fourth-edition_2ca15c7e-en/full-report/component-14.html)
The single most frequent error is confusing the possessive determiners with lookalike contractions: its (no apostrophe) versus it's (it is or it has), and your versus you're. A quick test is to expand the word; if it is or it has fits, the apostrophe is needed.[3](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes) • [10](https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-style-guide-fourth-edition_2ca15c7e-en/full-report/component-14.html)
## Plurals and the greengrocer's apostrophe
No major guide allows an apostrophe to form the plural of an ordinary noun: the 2020s, committee reports, newer 747s, fresh avocados, not the 2020's or fresh avocado's. The error of inserting one has a name, the greengrocer's apostrophe, from signage such as fresh avocado's.[3](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes) • [1](https://arxiv.org/abs/1002.0479)
The recognized exception is the plural of a single lowercase letter, where the mark separates the plural ending from a base that would otherwise read as a word: two c's and two m's, mind your p's and q's. Even here guides differ: MLA keeps apostrophes for letter plurals but not for grades (she got three As) or capitalized abbreviations (MAs and PhDs), and Oxford prefers italics or quotation marks instead, as in dot the 'i's and cross the 't's.[5](https://style.mla.org/apostrophes-three-ways/) • [9](https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/the-university/brand/style-guide/punctuation) Older guides were more willing to use apostrophes for plurals of numbers and acronyms such as the 1970's and MP's, a practice current guides reject.[9](https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/the-university/brand/style-guide/punctuation)
## Character encoding
For computers, the apostrophe exists in several distinct characters. U+0027 APOSTROPHE is the straight vertical mark present on most keyboards, and for historical reasons it is heavily overloaded, standing in ASCII for the apostrophe, the right single quotation mark, the prime, and even a modifier letter. In typeset text, U+2019 RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK is the preferred apostrophe glyph, and software commonly converts U+0027 to it automatically; U+02BC MODIFIER LETTER APOSTROPHE is the preferred character when the mark represents a sound, such as a glottal stop in transliteration.[7](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/UnicodeStandard-16.0.pdf)
## History and criticism
The mark entered English in the 16th century from Greek by way of Latin and French. The modern rules grew up around it over the following centuries, and the mark's misuse in plurals has been a standing target of usage commentary ever since.[1](https://arxiv.org/abs/1002.0479) • [2](https://www.axios.com/2023/11/23/apostrophe-grammar-rules-how-to)
Its standing in informal writing has weakened. A 2013 Brandwatch analysis of Twitter found the five most common apparent errors were omitted apostrophes: im, wont, cant, dont, and id; the bookseller [Waterstones](https://www.edgepedia.org/waterstones) (formerly Waterstone's) removed the mark from its name, and some cities have dropped apostrophes from street signs.[11](https://time.com/3423875/happy-national-punctuation-day/) Courtney Napoles, director of language research at [Grammarly](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammarly), observed in 2023 that even grammar experts find apostrophes confusing and recommends rephrasing a sentence when a pluralized last name looks odd.[2](https://www.axios.com/2023/11/23/apostrophe-grammar-rules-how-to)
## References
1. ["Mind your p's and q's": or the peregrinations of an apostrophe in 17th Century English, arXiv:1002.0479](https://arxiv.org/abs/1002.0479)
2. [Read this before using apostrophes in holiday cards, Axios (23 November 2023)](https://www.axios.com/2023/11/23/apostrophe-grammar-rules-how-to)
3. [Apostrophes, Style Manual (Australian Government)](https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/punctuation/apostrophes)
4. [The Chicago Manual of Style, explained, University of Chicago News](https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/chicago-manual-style-explained)
5. [Apostrophes: One Mark, Three Ways, MLA Style Center](https://style.mla.org/apostrophes-three-ways/)
6. [Editorial Style Guide, Harvard Law School](https://hls.harvard.edu/communications-office/hls-style-guides/editorial-style-guide/)
7. [The Unicode Standard, Version 16.0, Core Specification, section 6.2.7 Apostrophes](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/UnicodeStandard-16.0.pdf)
8. [Written style, GSA Web Style Guide](https://www.gsa.gov/reference/gsa-web-style-guide/written-style)
9. [Punctuation, University of Oxford Style Guide](https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/the-university/brand/style-guide/punctuation)
10. [Punctuation, OECD Style Guide (Fourth Edition)](https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-style-guide-fourth-edition_2ca15c7e-en/full-report/component-14.html)
11. ["Happy National Punctuation Day!" ;), Time](https://time.com/3423875/happy-national-punctuation-day/)
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