English Lesson: Using Contractions and Possessives

Yesterday's blog was about grammar. Today's blog continues that with a lesson about use of contractions and possessive pronouns. I've noticed that many people will make words possessive (by including an apostrophe and letter "S" ('s) when the subject doesn't need it. Today's blog will examine both things.

USING CONTRACTIONS- Is it grammatically correct to use contractions?  Contractions are considered informal language—they're most common in speech and casual written conversations. That makes them out of place in formal writing like academic papers or research reports

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS - Another potentially confusing area is possessive pronouns, which can sound the same as some contractions. In these cases, just remember that possessive Pronouns do not use an apostrophe, so if you see what looks like a possessive pronoun with an apostrophe, it’s actually a contraction.

it’s -> it is

its -> possessive of it

they’re -> they are

their -> possessive of they

who’s -> who is

whose -> possessive of who

she’s -> she is

her -> possessive of she

What Is a Possessive Noun? A possessive noun shows that a noun owns or possesses another noun. You can spot one in a sentence because it has an apostrophe before or after the letter "s." For example:

the boy's coat (the coat of the boy)

Jaime's feet (the feet of Jaime)

the Smiths’ cat (the cat of the Smiths)

Singular Possessive Nouns: Add Apostrophe Plus S

For most singular nouns, you can make them possessive by adding an apostrophe + "s" to the end of them.

The puppy's collar is red.

Joe's car looks like mine.

We designed the company's logo.

If a singular noun ends in "s," you can either add an apostrophe + "s" to the end or just an apostrophe. Both are correct, as long as the noun is not the same in singular or plural forms (such as pants or scissors).

Mr. Roberts' house is down the street. (Correct)

Mr. Roberts’s house is down the street (Also correct)

This species’ prey is dying out. (Correct)

This species’s prey is dying out. (Incorrect — species is the same in singular and plural forms)