Contracting

When contracting, we place at least two words together and miss out some of the letters. The apostrophe goes where the letters are missing (not where the words join up):

*  It is/it has - it's

*  We will/we shall - we'll

*  They have - they've

*  Can not - can't

*  Do not - don't

*  Did not - didn't

*  Would not - wouldn't

*  Has not - hasn't

*  Will not - won't

*  Who is/who has - who's

*  Are not - aren't

*  He would/he had - he'd

*  He would have had - he'd've

Beware the clipped form! A clipped form of a word no longer requires the use of an apostrophe since they are classed as contractions:

*  Advertisement - ad

*  brassiere - bra

*  Influenza - flu

*  Telephone - phone

... And such like.  Note, these aren't abbreviations.

Plurals

Never use an apostrophe when dealing with plurals!  Never do the following:

Ooh nasty - don't do it. However, needs must when pluralizing alphabet letters or other strange words:

Possessive

Always put your 's at the end of a person or object, when possession is stated:

*  Peter's idea

*  R1X's madness

*  Oscuridad's wisdom

*  Jane's website

*  Litopia's greens and greys

Exceptions:

*  Plural nouns already ending in s are only allowed an apostrophe (no extra :

*  The members' decision

*  The Litopians' forums

*  Two weeks' notice (Warner Bros got it wrong)

*  Note that plurals without an s already on the end work as normal:

*  Names ending in s also only take the apostrophe:

*  Francis' rain Mac

*  Ceris' pencil

*  Herodotus' boring book

*  Pronouns are always exempt:

*  His

*  Hers

*  Ours

*  These

*  Theirs

*  Yours

*  Whose

*  Its - most important of all the possessive pronoun since this is always mixed up with the it is/it has - it's (it isn't its' either)

*  One becomes one's however (just to add confusion)! One must do one's best.

Thanks to Litopian R1X for these shared insights - join Litopia now for immediate access to the Colony, the net's oldest and preeminent community for writers.