The Apostrophe

                  Some students still have difficulty differentiating between words such as

1. "Your" & "You're"
2. "His" & "He's"
3. "Its" & "It's"
4. "Their" & "They're"

Quickly and without too much complicated grammar explanations:

1.a "Your" is a possessive adjective

For example

• Your name is Ahmed,right?
• This is your pen.
• I beg your pardon?!

1.b "You're" are two words. The subject pronoun "You" and the verb "are" contracted into " 're".

For example

• You're here.
• You're my friend.
• You're late.
• You're a Moroccan student.
• You're from Agadir, aren't you?
• You're right.

Practice

1. [You're / Your] not allowed to park [you're / your] car here.

2. I think [you're / your] shape is perfect. I don't think [you're / your] fat at all.

3. When [you're / your] back home; please, remember to revise [you're / your] lessons.

This is the same for the others. Here are some examples,

2. "his" & "he's"
      His name is Hassan, and he's from Marrakech.

3. "its" & "it's"
      - He bought a Jacket. It's quite cheap, but its zipper is broken.

4. "their" & "they're"
      The Smiths are my friends. They're New-Yorkers, but their house is in Miami.

*// Copy the right answer in the gap provided, then click "check" to compare

1. I have got a cute cat. [Its / It's] name is Kitty.         Check                                                                   Its

2. My uncle is rich, but [he's / his] car is modest.         Check                                                                 his

3. Ted and Tom are twins. [Their / They're] 6 years old.         Check                                                                               they're

4. Ben is only 3, but [he's / his] such a gifted boy.         Check                                                             he's

5. [Its / It's] three O'clock sharp.         Check                             It's

6. The Bakers live in Paris, but [their / they're] children are in London.         Check                                                                                      their

7. This book is interesting although [its / it's] writer is not famous.         Check                                                                                   its

8. John is certainly here.[His / He's] car is in the parking.         Check                                                                   His

9. The kids are not at home. [They're / Their] in the park.         Check                                                                                   They're

10. I guess [its / it's] high time we left.         Check                                           it's

The compelling apostrophe

• 'm => am       |       I'm (I am) glad to see you again.
• 've => have       |       I've (I have) done my homework already.
• 'll => will       |       I'll (I will) try to contact you later during the day.
• won't => will not       |       They won't (will not) be able to come to the party.
• 's => is OR has       |       She's (She is) my aunt. | She's (She has) been to France twice.
• 'd => would OR had       |       I'd (we would) fly if I'd (I had) wings.
• n't => not :
  • don't => do not       |       I don't know.
  • doesn't => does not       |       She doesn’t drive.
  • can't => can not / cannot       |       You can't ignore this any more.
  • couldn't => could not       |       We couldn't sleep last night. It was very torrid.
  • shouldn't => should not       |       You shouldn't throw litter on the floor.
  • oughtn't to => ought not to       |       He oughtn't to go to bed late.
  • haven't => have not       |       I haven't seen the movie yet.
  • didn't => did not       |       We didn't meet the teacher yesterday.
  • hadn't => had not       |       They hadn’t bought anything yet when I met her..
  • mustn't => must not       |       You mustn't smoke here. It’s forbidden.
  • and so on

                  The apostrophe here is the exception but the rule is when you don't (do not) use it. However, the weird thing is that there are cases where you cannot get rid of the apostrophe. Here are some cases where the apostrophe imposes itself as the rule, not as an exception (?)

• Let us* => Let's | Let's go to the theatre this evening.
• You had better* => You'd better | You'd better revise your lessons regularly.

The apostrophe for possessive nouns

Singular

Plural

                  The surprise doesn't end here. The apostrophe can also find its way through rough styles like when the singular possessive noun ends in “"s"” itself, like Doris - the boss - Chris and so on.

                  In cases as such, you can use the apostrophe with an “"s"” or without it.

1. She put the report on the boss' desk.
2. She put the report on the boss's desk.

1. I have been introduced to Chris' parents.
2. I have been introduced to Chris's parents.