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Protecting the apostrophe since 2001

Since 2001, the Apostrophe Protection Society has had a mission to preserve the correct use of this important, though much misused, item of punctuation. After a short closure at the end of 2019, the Apostrophe Protection Society was revived in 2022 by its new chairman, Bob McCalden, to continue its mission to champion the use of the apostrophe.

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Quick rules

Contractions

Use an apostrophe to show that one or more letters have been omitted from the word.

Its / It's

"Its" means belonging to it. "It's" (with an apostrophe) is a contraction for "It is". It's as simple as that.

Possession

Use an apostrophe to show that something belongs to someone or something.

Never for plurals!

It's a simple rule - do not make a plural by using an apostrophe and "s"!

Read the July 2025 newsletter

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Apostrophe Misuse!

These are some of the latest real-life examples of incorrect apostrophe usage sent in by our members.

See them in all their shocking detail on our Examples page. Click [here] to be taken to them.

You can also submit your own photos to be included. Click [here] for details.

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"The little apostrophe deserves our protection.

It is indeed a threatened species!"

John Richards

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