Apostrophes

Apostrophe Archie

“Before the s? After the s? I'll just toss one in.”

What's the problem?

An apostrophe does two main jobs: it marks the possessive (the manager's office, the volunteers' sheet), which can show ownership or a looser association (a day's work, the city's history), and it marks missing letters in contractions (don't, it's = it is). It does not make ordinary plurals. Placement follows the possessor: write the possessor's word, singular or plural, then add 's, or just ' if that plural already ends in s. Possessive pronouns (its, theirs, yours) take no apostrophe. For singular names ending in s, this course's house style adds 's (Chris's); other styles write Chris', and that is also standard where those styles apply.

Context: Several volunteers share one sign-up sheet. The coordinator is one person, named Jess. Apply our house style for singular names ending in s.

✗ Apostrophe trouble

The volunteer's sign-up sheet is on Jess desk; its due by Friday.

✓ Mark in place

The volunteers' sign-up sheet is on Jess's desk; it's due by Friday.

Why it works

The sheet is associated with several volunteers, so the apostrophe follows the plural s. "Jess's" applies our stated house style; other styles would write "Jess'." "It's" stands for "it is."