SAT Essay Help: Apostrophe and Comma Misuse

Apostrophes are used to form contractions, indicate possession or ownership, and form certain plurals. Eight rules cover all of the situations in which they may appear:

1. Add 's to form the singular possessive, even when the noun ends in s:
   • The school's lunchroom needs to be cleaned.
   • The drummer's solo received a standing ovation.
   • Mr. Perkins's persuasive essay was very convincing.
2. A few plurals, not ending in s, also form the possessive by adding 's:
   • The children's toys were found in every room of the house.
   • The line for the women's restroom was too long.
   • Men's shirts come in a variety of neck sizes.
3. Possessive plural nouns already ending in s need only the apostrophe added:
   • The customers' access codes are confidential.
   • The students' grades improved each semester.
   • The flight attendants' uniforms were blue and white.
4. Indefinite pronouns show ownership by the addition of 's:
   • Everyone's hearts were in the right place.
   • Somebody's dog was barking all night.
   • It was no one's fault that we lost the game.
5. Possessive pronouns never have apostrophes, even though some may end ins:
   • Our car is up for sale.
   • Your garden is beautiful.
   • His handwriting is difficult to read.
6. Use an 's to form the plurals of letters, figures, and numbers used as words, as well as certain expressions of time and money:
   • She has a hard time pronouncing s's.
   • My report card had three A's. (Without the apostrophe, this could be misread as the word as.)
   • The project was the result of a year's worth of work.
7. Show possession in the last word when using names of organizations and businesses, in hyphenated words, and in joint ownership:
   • Sam and Janet's graduation was three months ago.
   • I went to visit my great-grandfather's alma mater.
   • The Future Farmers of America's meeting was moved to Monday.
8. Apostrophes form contractions by taking the place of the missing letter or number.
   • We're going out of town next week.
   • She's going to write the next proposal.
   • My supervisor was in the class of '89.