1. Using Apostrophes

2. Possessive Case
To form the possessive case of most singular nouns, add an apostrophe and an s.
Ex. Tony’s problem; a bus’s wheel, a dollar’s worth, Mr. Ross’s job

3. Note:
For a proper name ending in s, add only an apostrophe if the name has two or more syllables and if the addition of ‘s would make the name awkward to pronounce. Ex. West Indies’ export; Texas’ governor, Mrs. Wiggins’ car
For a singular common noun ending in s, add both an apostrophe and an s if the added s is pronounced as a separate syllable. Ex: the actress’s costumes, the dress’s sleeves, the class’s teacher

4. Let’s Try… Form the possessive case of each of the following nouns
Let’s Try… Form the possessive case of each of the following nouns. After each possessive word, give an appropriate noun. Example: Teresa – Teresa’s pencil
baby
uncle
year
cent
class
Terry
Ellen
mouse
Mr. Chan
Mr. Reynolds
plane
boss
child
Ms. Sanchez
horse
Paris
system
Mr. Jones

5. Let’s check… baby’s bottle uncle’s house year’s events cent’s worth
class’s problem
Terry’s friend
Ellen’s plans
mouse’s cheese
Mr. Chan’s daughter
Mr. Reynolds’ car
plane’s wings
boss’s secretary
child’s game
Ms. Sanchez’s son
horse’s mane
Paris’s cafes
system’s problem
Mr. Jones’s car

6. Possessive plurals
To form the possessive case of a plural nouns ending in s, add only the apostrophe.
two birds’ feathers
all three cousins’ vacation
the Girl Scouts’ uniforms
*If the plural noun doesn’t end in s, add an apostrophe and s.
children’s shoes
women’s belts

7. Let’s Try… Form the possessive case of each of the following plural nouns.
men
cats
teachers
enemies
princesses
dollars
elves
cattle
mice
parents
11. the Smiths
sheep
wives
O’Gradys
runners
attorneys
allies
friends
women
bats

8. Let’s Check… men’s cats’ teachers’ enemies’ princesses’ dollars’
elves’
cattle’s
mice’s
parents’
11. The Smiths’
12. sheep’s
13. wives;
14. O’Gradys’
runners’
attorneys’
allies’
friends’
women’s
bats’

9. Possessive Notes Continued
Generally, in compound words, names of organizations and businesses, and words showing joint possession, only the last word is possessive in form.
compound words: community board’s meeting
Organizations: United Fund’s drive
Businesses: Berkeley Milk Company’s trucks
Joint Possession: Peggy and Lisa’s tent

10. When two or more persons possess something individually, each of their names is possessive in form.
Example:
Mrs. Martin’s and Mrs. Blair’s cars
Amy’s and Danielle’s tennis rackets

11. Contractions
Use an apostrophe to show where letters, numerals, or words have been omitted in a contraction.
Who is = Who’s
1991 = ’91
Of the clock = O’clock
Bill is = Bill’s
I had = I’d
You all = y’all 

12. Don’t be confused~contractions and possessive pronouns are not the same!
Who’s at bat?
It’s roaring.
You’re too busy!
There’s a kite.
They’re tall trees.
Whose bat is that?
Listen to its roar.
Your friend is busy.
That kite is theirs.
Their trees are tall.

13. Plurals
To prevent confusion, use an apostrophe and an s to form the plurals of lowercase letters, some capital letters, numerals, symbols, and words that are referred to as words.
I got A’s on both tests.
The 1’s in this exercise look like l’s.
Two different Web site addresses began with ##’s and ended with .com’s.
His hi’s are always cheerful.