The Bloggers’ Guide to the Apostrophe
Blogs are generally an informal medium with most amateur writers ignoring minor spelling and grammatical errors in favour of a more conversational style.
While some bloggers can get away with this I don’t recommend it. For me the first rule of blogging is to spell check my work before I hit the publish button, building a readership is hard enough without upsetting people with basic grammar issues.
Rule 1: Using an apostrophe to replace a missing letter
This is especially useful in informal writing when most people much prefer to read “could’ve” rather than “could have”. The apostrophe goes where the letters have been removed.
Example uses:
- You’re right
- I don’t read
- He’s a blogger
Sometimes words are shortened in a strange way for example “I will not” becomes “I won’t”. Remember that “you’re” is short for “you are”.
The word “your” indicates possession and doesn’t require an apostrophe. For example “It’s your blog”
Rule 2: Handling plurals
This is a common trap for bloggers. As a general rule remember that if you are writing a plural you don’t need an apostrophe.
Example uses:
- Apples
- Pears
- The room is full of bloggers
- This blog has lots of readers
Rule 3: Indicating possession
An apostrophe can be used to indicate both singular and plural possession depending on whether it is placed before or after the “s”. Place the apostrophe before the s to show singular possession.
Place an apostrophe after the “s” when you are dealing with a possessive plural case that has an “s” at the end.
Example uses (singular):
- The cat’s tail - says that the tail belongs to the cat.
- The user’s run Digg
- Tony’s hair - says that the hair belongs to Tony.
- Darren Rowse’s blog is called ProBlogger
- Apple’s iPhone is cool
- Google’s algorithm is interesting
- Matt Cutts’s blog is about Google
Example uses (plural):
- The dogs’ bowls - says that the bowls belong to some dogs.
- The bloggers’ Wordpress themes were amazing
- Please visit my readers’ websites
- The men’s hats - says that the hats belong to the men
- The women’s house - says that the house belongs to the women.
Note that if a word is already a plural before you add an “s” the apostrophe should be added before the “s”.
Further reading:
- Apostrophes & Punctuation Rules - Grammarbook.com
- How to Use Apostrophes
- The Apostrophe Protection Society
Categories: Blogging
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Man, you can’t blog about this and not include the most abused example! “Its” should have its own category. (Or is it “it’s”?)
Shane November 28, 2007 9:22 pm | Reply
Thanks for the guide, you’re blog is great!
Sucker November 28, 2007 9:54 pm | Reply
Hey good post, great to know that others are thinking about what they’re actually saying. Commonly seeing people post the word ‘then’ instead of ‘than’, very frustrating!
Nick Sanders November 28, 2007 10:27 pm | Reply
The misuses of the apostrophe are amongst the greatest crimes inflicted on me every day so I welcome this post. It still amazes me how even basic uses can be misunderstood (such as with plurals), but I see enough examples every day to want to scream for better education in our schools!
One area that you didn’t mention is the exception to all rules that is “its / it’s”, being the only example of a possessive not requiring an apostrophe and only being present in the contraction “it is”. This is one of the most common blind spots even amongst knowledgeable writers - I myself battled this one for decades - as it seems to flaunt the otherwise standard rules.
Kimota November 28, 2007 11:02 pm | Reply
I feel your pain.
The worst I ever heard of was “gateaux’s”. I mean, can you imagine the mentality at work behind that one?
The worst I ever saw personally was “try’s”, which was so shocking that I ended up using it to top and tail a heavy political post during the last Lib Dem leadership election.
link
What do they teach them in schools these days, I wonder? :o)
Andy November 28, 2007 11:38 pm | Reply
It’s sad that this is even needed, but it is a common trap.
I once ate at a restaurant named “Adventure’s in eating”. It drove me nuts!
Michael Yates November 29, 2007 1:14 am | Reply
“The user’s run Digg”, how does that make sense?
Internet Marketing November 29, 2007 3:34 am | Reply
Thank you for this. One can never have enough reminders about apostrophe abuse. My favorite example was a RL one, but still good: a sign that said CHRISTMA’S TREES FOR SALE. I told my father, “Well, that must be Paul Christma. And those are his trees.”
Widgett Walls November 29, 2007 6:48 am | Reply
“The user’s run Digg” Huh?!?!?
That’s almost as bad as the classic greengrocers’ “Appel’s 10 for a pound”
I assume it was a deliberate mishtake to check we’re reading carefully.
db
David Bradley November 29, 2007 11:03 am | Reply
I’m glad people still care about grammar and spelling.
My company created a tool that can help improve people’s writing. The tool is called Virtual Editor (www.veditor.net) and it’s an automated grammar and style checker.
The tool is very simple to use, it’s fast, and it’s free. You simply visit the website (www.veditor.net), enter your email address, and upload a document for checking - that’s it. Within a few minutes Virtual Editor will email you a report that highlights all the issues it found with suggestions on how to fix the issues.
I encourage your readers to try it. They have nothing to lose except grammar and style problems.
Daniel November 30, 2007 8:42 pm | Reply
What a dandy post!
It’s about time that someone from within the blogging community started to push proper spelling and grammar.
When I see things like “tho” and “b4″ I’m left with the impression that the writer feels that they are too important to take the time to hit a few keystrokes and that the reader should struggle to figure out the message.
This is frequently found on forums in postings containing questions. My solution is similar to throwing out resumes with errors, I just don’t bother to continue reading the question.
Sorry, my grammatical weakness is run-on sentences. It’s been this way since fifth grade.
spenser December 1, 2007 9:41 pm | Reply
As has already been pointed out, “The user’s run Digg” is grammatically incorrect. It neither indicates possession or an abbreviation; the apostrophe should not be included.
Mike December 8, 2007 2:50 pm | Reply
Good for you for trying to navigate these choppy waters!
I am teaching a developmental college writing class in the spring and we will be doing blogs. I was going to send them to this post but my goodness, you might want to do one on comma splices (also commas). Teaching something is a great way to learn about it!
thanks for the effort…
art predator December 25, 2007 7:24 am | Reply
CAn we use two successive apostrophes?
For instance - can I write a sentence like:
Ram’s father’s friend…..
Subhasish July 15, 2008 6:58 am | Reply