Common Apostrophe Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Apostrophes have exactly two jobs in English: showing possession ("Sarah's book") and marking missing letters in a contraction ("don't" = "do not"). They are never used to make a word plural. Nearly every common apostrophe mistake comes from breaking one of those two rules.

Mistake 1: using an apostrophe for plurals

This is the single most common error — adding an apostrophe just because a word ends in S:

• Wrong: "We sell apple's and banana's."
• Right: "We sell apples and bananas." (no apostrophe — just plural)

Plain plurals never take an apostrophe. If you're just saying there's more than one of something, leave the apostrophe out.

Mistake 2: mixing up "its" and "it's"

Covered in full in "It's vs Its" — briefly: "it's" is always short for "it is" or "it has"; "its" (no apostrophe) shows possession. This is the reverse of the usual pattern, which is exactly why it trips people up.

Mistake 3: getting possessive plurals wrong

• One dog: the dog's bowl (apostrophe before the S)
• More than one dog: the dogs' bowls (apostrophe after the S, since "dogs" is already plural)

Rule: form the plural first (dogs), then add the apostrophe after the final S to show possession.

Mistake 4: names ending in S

Both of these are accepted in standard style guides — pick one and stay consistent:

• "James's book" (adds 's, pronounced "James-iz")
• "James' book" (adds only an apostrophe — an older, still-accepted style)

Quick checklist

• Just plural, no ownership? → no apostrophe.
• Shows ownership? → apostrophe before S (singular owner) or after S (plural owner).
• Missing letters in a contraction? → apostrophe where the letters were dropped.

Frequently Asked Questions