Writing Tip of the Day - Apostrophes

Have you ever seen a sign like this at a store or along a road:

Did you notice that unnecessary apostrophe? This is called a "grocer's apostrophe" because it is commonly seen in grocery stores and roadside produce stands, although it could pop up anywhere.

Apostrophes can indicate two things - either that two words are being combined into one contraction or that something is owned by someone or something else.

Let's take a look at the first case - the contraction. A contraction happens when two words are combined into one. The apostrophe substitutes for the missing letters.

For example:

Now let's look at the second case - the possessive. The possessive form is used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something else. In this case, we add "apostrophe s" to the end of the name of the person or the thing that does the possessing.

For example:

This is Sarah's puppy. The yellow toy is the puppy's rubber ducky.