In English, you can use an apostophe to:
- indicate that one or more letters were dropped in a contraction:
it is > it’s
we are > we’re
does not > doesn’t
of the clock > o’clock - indicate possession:
a) singular with ’s
Anuj’s post
Sumit’s reply
the tute’s queries (only one tute has the query here)
b) plural with s’
the books’ covers
my brothers’ jobs
the tutes’ queries(multiple tutes have queries)
The apostrophe should never be used when you are just talking about something that is plural, with no possession.
The girl’s walked by > The girls walked by
My brother’s are tall > My brothers are tall
Welcome traveler’s > Welcome travelers
Conclusion
Just remember that the apostrophe has a purpose: to indicate a contraction or possession. It does not indicate a plural – the letter s does a fine job of that all by itself. So remember this while you are attempting the sentence correction questions as examiner plays with these small issues to confuse you.
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- Comma and Semicolon Usage
- Word Usage which helps in Sentence Correction
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- Usage of ‘that’ and ‘which’
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