Punctuation Problems: How to Avoid Apostrophe Abuse and Quotation Mark Quandaries

Following are some common punctuation mistakes and tips for how to avoid them. Of course, this short article cannot possibly include every related rule, so I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of The Associated Press Stylebook, also called the AP style guide, which is the set of rules many publications use for grammar, punctuation and style. You’ll find it extremely helpful if you’re serious about writing.

Apostrophe Abuse

Nothing is worse than apostrophe abuse, but you see it all the time. The most common way apostrophes are misused is in the creation of plurals. An apostrophe creates a contraction or a possessive, not a plural. For example, if you want to say that you have more than one worm, you would say, “I have worms,” not “I have worm’s.” An apostrophe followed by an “s” indicates a possessive (ownership), such as “The girl’s buck teeth are sexy.” There is no need for the apostrophe to indicate a plural.

This applies to pluralizing mutliple letters, too. For example, it's ABCs, IOUs and VIPs. No apostrophes are needed. However, if it's a single letter that is plural, you'll need an apostrophe. (He received four F's on his report card.)

When you do use an apostrophe to indicate a possessive, put it in the right place. If the word you need to make possessive does not already have an “s” at the end, add an apostrophe before the “s.” For example, “The monkey’s butt is cute.” That is an example of a singular noun made possessive. There is one monkey, and his butt is cute. But the same rule applies to plural nouns that don’t end in “s.” (The children’s cooties are contagious.)