1. Contractions: Apostrophes are used to indicate that letters have been omitted in contractions, which combine two words into one. For example:
* can't (cannot)
* don't (do not)
* I'm (I am)
* it's (it is)
2. Possessive Nouns: Apostrophes are used to show possession (ownership) of something. For example:
* The dog's tail (the tail of the dog)
* My brother's car (the car belonging to my brother)
3. Plurals of Letters and Numbers: Apostrophes are sometimes used to indicate the plural form of letters and numbers. For example:
* A's (more than one A)
* 1980's (more than one 1980)
Important Note:
It's crucial to remember that apostrophes are not used to simply shorten words or phrases. They are used specifically for contractions, possessives, and sometimes plurals of letters and numbers.
For example, you wouldn't write "u" instead of "you" using an apostrophe. Similarly, you wouldn't write "bus' stop" to mean "bus stop".