Français sans Fautes Logo
BlogBusinessesSchoolsDownload the App

Resources

Blog

Follow us:

Services

TeachersSchoolsBusinesses

Contact & Legal

Contact UsFeedback & IdeasPrivacy PolicyTerms of Use

© 2025 Shaky English. All rights reserved.

  1. Accueil
  2. Blog
  3. Punctuation & Capitalization
  4. Apostrophes
Punctuation & Capitalization

Apostrophes

2 min de lecture
Partager :

An apostrophe (’) is a small punctuation mark that makes a big difference in meaning. It’s used for contractions, showing possession, and sometimes time expressions. Let’s look at how to use it correctly.

1. Apostrophes in contractions

We use an apostrophe when we join two words and leave out some letters. This makes speech and writing faster and more natural.

  • do not → don’t → I don’t know the answer.
  • it is → it’s → It’s raining today.
  • you have → you’ve → You’ve done well!
  • she is → she’s → She’s my sister.
  • they had / would → they’d → They’d never seen snow before.

⚠️ Be careful: The same contraction can mean different things depending on the sentence.

  • He’s tired. (He is)
  • He’s been to Italy. (He has)

2. Apostrophes to show possession

We use an apostrophe + s to show that something belongs to someone or something.

  • This is Lina’s bike.
  • My friend’s house is near the park.

If the noun is plural and ends in “s,” the apostrophe goes after the “s.”

  • The students’ classroom is on the left. (more than one student)

3. Apostrophes with time

We also use apostrophes with time to show a duration:

  • I need an hour’s rest. (one hour)
  • It’s just ten minutes’ walk from here. (ten minutes)

Common mistake: Its vs. It’s

✅ It’s = it is or it has
✅ Its = something belongs to it (no apostrophe!)

  • It’s my favorite movie. (= It is)
  • The cat washed its paws. (= possessive)

💡 Astuce

🔸 Apostrophe = something is missing (it’s, can’t, you’ve) or someone owns something (Anna’s, teacher’s)
🔸 Never use an apostrophe with its when it shows possession!

Teste tes connaissances 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

The bird spread ___ wings and flew away.

Découvre l'application : Français sans Fautes

Rejoins 500 000 personnes qui révisent les bases de l'orthographe sur l'application Français sans Fautes

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

D'autres règles similaires

Les accords

Incorrect Passive Voice Usage

The passive voice is used when the focus is on the action or the object, not the person doing the action. But it can cause confusion or sound unnatural when used incorrectly — especially if the senten...

Lire la suite→
Confusions fréquentes

Historic vs. Historical

Historic and historical look almost the same, but they are used differently. Both relate to the past, but the meaning changes depending on the type of event or object you’re talking about. Historic H...

Lire la suite→
Les accords

Double Negatives (e.g. I don’t know nothing)

In standard English, using two negative words in the same sentence usually creates a grammar error called a double negative. This happens when two negative forms are used together — making the sentenc...

Lire la suite→
Les accords

Omission of Auxiliary Verbs in Questions/Negatives (e.g. He not go)

In English, we almost always need an auxiliary verb (like do, does, did, is, are, have) when forming questions and negatives in the present simple or past simple tenses — unless “be,” “have,” or a mod...

Lire la suite→
La conjugaison

What Is an Adverb?

An adverb is a word that modifies or gives more information about a verb, adjective, another adverb, or even a whole sentence. It helps answer questions like how?, when?, where?, and how often? Adver...

Lire la suite→
Le vocabulaire, le bon

Title Capitalization

Title Case means you capitalize the important words in a title. It’s the style used in book titles, headings, and most English writing where the title needs to look formal. What do we capitalize in t...

Lire la suite→
La conjugaison

Some vs. Any

Some and any are both used to talk about an unknown quantity of something. They are often used before plural countable nouns or uncountable nouns — but we use them in different types of sentences. Wh...

Lire la suite→
Un peu de théorie

Affect vs. Effect

Let’s make the difference between affect and effect easy to understand! Affect Affect is usually a verb. It means to influence or to make a change. Too much screen time can affect your sleep....

Lire la suite→