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# apostrophe

noun (an apostrophe, apostrophes)

«apostrophe» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. An apostrophe is a punctuation mark (') used to show that letters are missing in a shortened word: «don't» means «do not». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apostrophe/#m1)
2. An apostrophe also shows that something belongs to someone: «Sam's bag». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apostrophe/#m2)
3. (literature, formal) An apostrophe is also when a speaker in a poem talks directly to someone absent or a thing, like «O Moon!». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apostrophe/#m3)

### In the lessons

In English lessons pupils learn apostrophes for contraction («can't», «it's», «I'm») and for possession («the dog's bone», one dog; «the dogs' bones», more than one dog; «the children's toys»). A common mistake is the «greengrocer's apostrophe», putting an apostrophe in an ordinary plural, like «apple's for sale». Teachers often check «its» and «it's».

### Examples

- «Don't» has an apostrophe where the «o» is missing. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apostrophe/#x1)
- This is Mia's coat. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apostrophe/#x2)
- The girls' changing room is on the left. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apostrophe/#x3)
- «It's» means «it is»; «its» means «belonging to it». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apostrophe/#x4)
- Do not use an apostrophe to make a plural: «bananas», not «banana's». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apostrophe/#x5)
- «The children's paintings» uses «'s» because «children» is already plural. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apostrophe/#x6)
- «Who's» means «who is». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apostrophe/#x7)

### Note

Plural «apostrophes»; «an apostrophe». Say «a-POS-truh-fee». Biggest traps: «its» (no apostrophe) means belonging to it; «it's» means «it is» or «it has». Plurals do not take an apostrophe unless showing possession. For a plural ending in «s», put the apostrophe after the «s»: «the teachers' room».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «apostrophe» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apostrophe/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«apostrophe» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/apostrophe.html) on Mova free.