The Apostrophe’s Other Life
Last month, we looked at the bond between possessives and apostrophes. But the possessive case and the apostrophe each work second jobs. The former goes its own way in the world of pronouns; the latter fills in for letters in contractions.
With possessive nouns, you must use the apostrophe correctly, as we discussed last month, depending on whether the noun is singular or plural. With pronouns, never use an apostrophe to indicate possession. Lots of grammar rules have exceptions or times when you can be free with the rule. Not this one: Never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns.
That’s no problem with these pronouns: my, mine, your, her, our, and their. It gets muddier with pronouns that end in “s”: his, yours, hers, theirs, and the really tough one its.
Examples:
The desk chair is hers.
The earnings are theirs.
The dog ate its bone.
If the singular thing you are writing about owns something, it’s “its.” Period.
The it with an apostrophe, it’s, has a different meaning all together. It’s means “it is.” The word is a contraction, with the apostrophe filling in for the letter “i” in “is.” Contractions can be made up of the following words:
Pronouns + verbs: I’m, they’re, he’ll, she’s, and the dreaded you’re (not the same as the possessive “your”) and they’re (not the same as the possessive “their” or the directional “there”)
Nouns + verbs: Azalea’s going to the store. That dog’ll hunt.
Verbs + “not”: isn’t, aren’t, and won’t (which is really “will not.”)
I think this blog has exhausted its apostrophe (apostrophic?) topics. Tune in next month for another author interview. Whoo hoo!
And, friends, it’s football season. Why not pick up a copy of Wonderfully Made, whose hero plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. Get a copy for your football-fan friends, especially if they are New York Jets fans. (You know who you are!) For five days, starting September 28, the book will be free on Kindle!
One more thing: I switched up the formatting for the newsletter and blog for better reading and printing accessibility. Let me know if you like it.