Uses of the apostrophe
The main use of apostrophe is to show that a person or thing belongs to somebody.
We indicate this by adding an apostrophe and ‘s’ to singular nouns.
- This is John’s laptop.
- He is my brother’s colleague.
In the case of plural nouns ending in ‘s’ only an apostrophe is added.
- The students’ hostel is not far from here.
When the plural noun does not end in ‘s’, we use an apostrophe and ‘s’ to form the possessive form.
- They have a nice collection of children’s books.
Apostrophe is also used to show that letters or numbers have been omitted.
- I’m not interested in this. (I’m = I am)
- June ’99 = June 1999