When using a singular noun, the apostrophe is used before the s. For example: “The squirrel’s nuts were stashed in a hollow tree.” When using a plural noun, the apostrophe goes after the s. For example: “The squirrels’ nuts were hidden in several hollow trees throughout the forest.”

Apostrophes are used in four ways: to show possession (e.g., dog's dinner) in time expressions (e.g., 2 years' pay) in contractions (e.g., isn't) to show awkward plurals, but only very awkward plural (e.g., i's and a's)

Apostrophes have two main uses: Indicating possession (e.g., The student’s paper) Indicating a contraction (e.g., She’s writing a paper) Contractions should be avoided in academic writing, but possessive apostrophes are used in all types of writing. Make sure to use them correctly, especially when dealing with plurals and abbreviations.

We use an apostrophe to show that we have left out one or more letters: do not → don’t They don’t like salt in their food. it is → it’s It’s a long way to walk.

The apostrophe is used to Indicate possession Stand in for omitted letters or numbers Form the plural of lowercase letters You should aim to use a directional or smart apostrophe (i.e., ’ or ‘) as opposed to a straight or unidirectional mark (i.e., ‘).