General Rule: Treat the apostrophe and the letter that follows it as a single unit.
Examples:
* "A" comes before "an": "A" comes before "an" because the apostrophe and the "n" are treated as a single unit.
* "Can't" comes before "car": "Can't" comes before "car" because "can't" is alphabetized as if it were "cant".
* "It's" comes before "its": "It's" is alphabetized as "its" because the apostrophe and the "s" are treated as a single unit.
* "She's" comes after "shed": "She's" is alphabetized as "shes" and comes after "shed".
Exceptions:
* Possessive "s": When the apostrophe indicates possession (e.g., "John's"), the apostrophe and "s" are treated as a single unit only for alphabetizing.
* Contractions: Contractions like "don't", "won't", etc., are alphabetized as if they were "dont", "wont", etc.
* Plural Apostrophes: Words like "apples'" are alphabetized as "apples" because the apostrophe indicates a plural, not a single unit.
Key takeaway: Alphabetizing with apostrophes primarily focuses on treating the apostrophe and the following letter as a single unit. It's important to consider the context of the apostrophe (possession, contraction, plural) to determine the correct alphabetization.