Explanation
Apostrophes — Plurals, Possessives, and Contractions Apostrophes have two main jobs: Possession (to show ownership) and Contraction (to replace missing letters). 1. Plural Nouns No apostrophe for normal plurals. A plural noun means more than one. Do not use an apostrophe just because the noun ends in s. (e.g., student -> students, researcher -> researchers). 2. Singular Possessive Nouns Add 's . Shows that one person/place/thing owns something. (e.g., the student's essay, the company's strategy). 3. Plural Possessive Nouns If the plural ends in s, add only an apostrophe (') . (e.g., the students' projects, the researchers' results). 4. Plural vs. Possessive Shortcut Look at the word after the noun. If it's followed by another noun, ask: Does the second noun belong to the first noun? If yes, use a possessive. If it's just a noun phrase modifying another (e.g., school policy, climate data), it's not possessive. 5. Irregular Plural Possessives If the plural does not end in s (child->children, woman->women, man->men, person->people), add 's . (e.g., children's, women's, people's). 6. Nouns Ending in S Singular nouns ending in s usually take 's . (e.g., the business's policy). Compare: The business's policy (One business) vs The businesses' policies (Many businesses). 7. Contractions Apostrophe replaces missing letters. it's = it is, they're = they are, who's = who is, you're = you are. 8. Possessive Pronouns Do not use apostrophes with possessive pronouns. (its, your, whose,…