What is the correct way to use an apostrophe?

There are many different examples...

If there's a missing letter....eg...it's = it is.

An apostrophe is also used to show possession...

The dog's bone...the bone of the dog.

However, if the noun is already plural and ends in an s, then the apostrophe comes at the end....

The dogs' bones...The bones of the dog.

Many people stick in an apostrophe when it's not needed every time a word ends in an s...Apple's for sale...this is incorrect.

the main appropriate answer is "Jamie Hayles' toddler bathe." place an apostrophe after the "s" once you're dealing with a possessive plural case that has an "s" on the top (e.g., e book to books, tree to timber). yet whilst the be conscious is plural without an "s" on the top, this rule does no longer word; upload an apostrophe and an "s" as though the be conscious have been singular.

It's either for possession, to show something belongs to something else (e.g Simon's lunch, the painting's colours). Note it doesn't have to be a possession of a person, it can be a possession of a passive object too.

The other use is for omission, to replace letters that are removed when we abbreviate (shorten) a word or series of words. For example, "that's" is short for "that is", but we get rid of the 'i' in 'is' and replace with an aposrophe.

It is never used for plurals.

A common misconception is that an apostrophe is NEVER used in the word 'its'. If 'its' can be replaced by 'it is' (e.g. It's cold outside), then it needs one (under the above rule for usage for omission), but not in other usages of the word (e.g.You need to put the toy back in its box).

Hope this helps a bit, it is complex, as an English teacher it's an eternal battle getting student's to use them correctly. Read 'eats, shoots and leaves' as an entertaining and clear guide to their usage.

Same answer as previous. There is one thing that bugs me though when my students (I tutor English, French and Spanish GCSE) put the apostrophe in "it's" when they shouldn't ie "The novel, with it's fantasy backdrop..."

In what language?

In French it is to replace a vowel that has been dropped in front of a word that starts with a vowel or an unsounded h.

l' animation

l' élément

l' initiative

l' occuliste

l' utilisation

l' habitude

l' horizon

etc...

In the Posessive scence.

Like, "It's Pete's Pen"

Never Plural: "The Pen's belong to Pete" is incorrect.

Except "Its". For whatever reason, it never has an apostrophe.

EDIT: Just remembered, looking at my Ipod....

It can be used for Contractions, too.... "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" -Defiance Ohio :)

EDIT2: Ipods are handier than I thought.....

Sometimes apostrophes are used to denote slang, too. It's a way of immitating dialect....

"Keepin' Up With the Kids" -Mindless Self Indulgence

an apostrophe is used for "its" if you are saying for instance "it's mine"! meaning it is. The apostrophe shows possession or replaces a letter.

Generally, an apostrophe begins with "O", to show that the speaker is crying out to someone or something that isn't physically present, or perhaps to an abstract concept, e.g., "Where, O Death, is thy sting?". That's how I use them, anyway...isn't that correct?;>

In a conjunction or when some thing is owned by somebody.

Example;

This isn't what I ordered.

(Conjunction)

That's Oscar's car.

(Possesions)

See : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe#English_la...