the Apostrophe.

Yes, this is a post about the Apostrophe.   Why the apostrophe?  Because I found this incredible link that has some great discussion regarding the use and misuse of this wonderful English language tool.

Did you know there was even a society for the protection of the apostrophe?  It is called, The Apostrophe Protection Society.  How fitting.

I received the following information from a writing group that I am a part of and thought the information was worth sharing.  In the least there is a lot of food for thought here and hopefully you will even learn something new.  ENJOY:

Everywhere you turn, you see apostrophe errors. You'll find them in the produce department of the store ("Pear's for sale") and even in professional works that should know better, such as newspapers ("Its time for the Fall Festival").

There's actually a good reason for the confusion between "it's" and "its." Until the 19^th century, our plural form of the pronoun "it" was treated the same as a noun plural: "The lizard lost it's tail." That's because the word "'tis" was in vogue during that time, and it served as the contraction form of "it is." "Tis a lovely day."

However, as we moved into the 19^th century, "'tis" fell out of favor, and we began using "it's" as the contraction form of "it is." That's when we saw the emergence of the plain "its," which freed up the contraction, and then the confusion began.

But as you know, "it's" and "its" aren't the only troublesome areas where folks struggle with apostrophes. As to the other rules, they're covered in Evaluating Writing. But the main errors people make with apostrophes fall into these three categories:

Apostrophes in Possessives

YES: 

Use an apostrophe and an s when a noun owns something:

 Bill's ball

Mary's hat

BUT:

Use only an apostrophe when the noun is plural AND ends in an s. Otherwise, use the apostrophe and the s:

The cats' toys

The children's lessons

James's haircut

NO:

Do not use an apostrophe when you're talking about pronouns that own things, as in words such as his, hers, and its:

His truck is red.

Her shoes are new.

Its windows are tinted.

Apostrophes in Plurals

NO:

You do not need to use an apostrophe when you're referring to several nouns:

Bees make honey.

Dogs like to chase cats.

Apples are on sale this week.

Apostrophes in Contractions

YES:

Use an apostrophe when you're combining two words into one:

Doesn't = does not

Can't = can not or cannot

Isn't = is not

You're = you are