USE OF APOSTROPHONE

There are two basic uses of the apostrophe in English:

1- To show that letters or numbers are missing:

In contractions, we use an apostrophe to indicate that a letter is missing

+ Isn't = is not

+ ' 72 = 1972

2- To show possession:

If something belongs to a person or thing, we use an apostrophe to show ownership

+ Jane's house is in a nice area. (The house belongs to Jane)

We put the apostrophe after the letter s in a plural:

+ The girls' mother collected them from school. (There were two or more girls)

NB: With irregular plurals, we put the apostrophe before the letter s:

+ The children's teacher was very popular.

+ The use of the apostrophe with plurals:

Plurals-

We very rarely use the apostrophe to show plurals and only under special circumstances:

- Some people use them with acronyms (words made from the first letters of a phrase, like CD for Compact Disc)- CD's. Others do not use the apostrophe here.

- Numbers- Some people write the 1990's and others write the 1990s.

- To make a letter plural- mind your p's and q's (an expression meaning 'mind your manners')

Other than these circumstances, the apostrophe should not be used in plurals unless they are showing possession.