There are uses of an apostrophe at different places in the English language. Let’s see them all one by one.

(A) Apostrophe is used for possessive cases in the following situations:

(1) Living things	(a) Mohan’s book (b) a cow’s horn (c) a woman’s purse
(2) Thing personified as	(a) week’s holiday (b) earth’s surface
(3) Space, time or weight as	(a) a days’ leave (b) well’s water (c) a pound’s weight
(4) Certain dignified objects as	(a) the court’s orders (b) a duty’s call (c) a razor’s edge (d) a needle’s point
(5) Familiar phrases as	(a) at his wit’s end (b) at a stone’s throw

You can avoid using an apostrophe in other cases.

(B) If the last letter of a plural word is ‘s’, we do not use ‘s’ with an apostrophe, only (‘) is used.

Examples:

1. Horses’ tail.
2. Boys’ college
3. Girls’ college
4. Working girls’ hostel.

Note: We do not use ‘s’ with the hissing sound of s.

Examples;

• for peace’ sake
• for consience’s sake
• for goodness’s sake

More Uses of an Apostrophe

(C) We do not use an apostrophe with words like his, hers, yours, its, theirs.

For examples:

• Yours faithfully
• Your truly
• Ours garden
• His pen
• Her purse
• Thiers room

(D) We use an apostrophe with the last words of the following titles:

• Governor-general’s instructions.
• Commander-in-chief’s orders.
• My son-in-law’s sister.
• Ram and Son’s shop.

(E) Do not use ‘Double apostrophe’: We should try to avoid double apostrophe in a sentence:

• My wife’s secretary’s mother has expired. (Incorrect)
• The mother of my wife’s secretary has expired. (Correct)

• My friend’s brother’s result has been announced. (Incorrect)
• The result of my friend’s brother has been anounced. (Correct)

(F) An apostrophe is used with Anybody/Nobody/Everybody/Somebody/Anyone/Someone/No one/Everyone.

Examples:

• Everyone’s concern is no one’s concern.
• Everybody’s business is nobody’s business.

Note: If we have to use else after them, the apostrophe is used after else.

• I can rely on your words, not somebody else’s.
• I obey your order and nobody’s else’s.

It would be wrong to write Somebody’s else or Nobody’s else in the above sentences.

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