Here’s a terrific post on when and how to use apostrophes–one of the best I’ve read. Check it out, and perhaps bookmark it for future reference. And don’t forget to share, thanks! (Thanks also to Virginia S. Anderson for posting this on Just Can’t Help Writing. Very helpful, indeed!)
One of those dastardly little conundrums of self-editing is the apostrophe.
Our writing center at the institution where I taught had a handout titled “Rogue Apostrophes,” in recognition of the way these nasty squiggles had a way of popping up here and there in student papers, wherever the mood seemed to strike them.
””””””’ !
As with many punctuation marks, misplaced apostrophes don’t always get in the way of a reader’s understanding. But they can. When readers encounter something that looks as if it was a possessive but turns out not to be, they’ll mentally backtrack to clear up the confusion. Sometimes the reader doesn’t even notice the glitch in his or her attention, but it’s there all the same.
And even the slightest glitch in attention means that the reader has been kicked out of your story, even if just for a moment. Not good.
There are only
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The Write Stuff 
Thanks for sharing this, Marcia. I reblogged.
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My pleasure, Kass. Even if we’ve already learned these things, it’s easy to forget, and this is a good, clear reminder of the how and why. I’ve saved it for future reference, myself. 🙂
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Thanks, Marcia, these reminders are always helpful. 🙂
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Hi, Marcia! Thanks for sharing!
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My pleasure, Virginia. Thanks for putting it all together in such a concise, easy-to-understand manner. I have saved it for future reference, in case I forget. (I do that now and then. I’m OOOOOLLLLD! 😀 )
And nice to see you here, too. 🙂
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