apostrophe

Punctuation mark (') used in written English and some other languages. In English it serves primarily to indicate either a missing letter (mustn't for must not) or number ('47 for 1947), or grammatical possession (‘John's camera’, ‘women's dresses’). It is often omitted in proper names (Publishers Association, Consumers Union, Actors Studio, Collins Dictionary). Many people otherwise competent in writing have great difficulty with the apostrophe, which has never been stable at any point in its history.

An apostrophe may precede the plural s used with numbers and abbreviations (the 1970's, a group of P.O.W.'s) but is just as often omitted (the 1970s, a group of POWs). For possessives of certain words ending with s, usage is split, as between James's book and James' book. Names and dates used adjectivally are not usually followed by an apostrophe (‘a 1950s car’, ‘a Beatles record’).

The use of an apostrophe to help indicate a plural (as in a shopkeeper's Apple's and Tomato's, followed by their prices) is regarded by many as semiliterate.

apostrophe

Figure of speech in which the speaker turns from the main subject to address some absent person or quality, as in ‘O Death, where is thy sting’ or Hamlet's ‘Frailty, thy name is woman’.