1. Contractions: Apostrophes are used to combine two words into one, omitting some letters:
* I am becomes I'm
* cannot becomes can't
* it is becomes it's
2. Possessives: Apostrophes indicate possession:
* The dog's bone (the bone belonging to the dog)
* My sister's car (the car belonging to my sister)
* The children's toys (the toys belonging to the children)
3. Plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols: Apostrophes are sometimes used to form plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols:
* Mind your p's and q's
* The 1990's
* There are too many &'s in this sentence.
Important Notes:
* Singular possessive: For singular nouns, add an apostrophe and an "s" (the dog's, the girl's).
* Plural possessive: For plural nouns that end in "s", add just an apostrophe (the dogs'). For plural nouns that don't end in "s", add an apostrophe and an "s" (the children's).
* It's vs. Its: "It's" is a contraction of "it is." "Its" is the possessive pronoun (meaning belonging to it).
Let me know if you have any other grammar questions!