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Grammar

How to Use an Apostrophe + Examples

In grammar, an apostrophe is a punctuation mark used to indicate possession and to replace omitted letters, words, or numbers in contractions.

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Introduction

Our text compare tool is a fantastic, lightweight tool that provides plagiarism checks between two documents. Whether you are a student, blogger or publisher, this tool offers a great solution to detect and compare similarities between any two pieces of text. In this article, I will discuss the different ways to use the tool, the primary features of the tool and who this tool is for. There is an FAQ at the bottom if you run into any issues when trying to use the tool.

What makes Originality.ai’s text comparison tool stand out?

Keyword density helper – This tool comes with a built-in keyword density helper in some ways similar to the likes of SurferSEO or MarketMuse the difference being, ours is free! This feature shows the user the frequency of single or two word keywords in a document, meaning you can easily compare an article you have written against a competitor to see the major differences in keyword densities. This is especially useful for SEO’s who are looking to optimize their blog content for search engines and improve the blog’s visibility.

Ways to compare

File compare – Text comparison between files is a breeze with our tool. Simply select the files you would like to compare, hit “Upload” and our tool will automatically insert the content into the text area, then simply hit “Compare” and let our tool show you where the differences in the text are. By uploading a file, you can still check the keyword density in your content.

URL compare

Comparing text between URLs is effortless with our tool. Simply paste the URL you would like to get the content from (in our example we use a fantastic blog post by Sherice Jacob found here) hit “Submit URL” and our tool will automatically retrieve the contents of the page and paste it into the text area, then simply click “Compare” and let our tool highlight the difference between the URLs. This feature is especially useful for checking keyword density between pages!

Simple text compare

You can also easily compare text by copying and pasting it into each field, as demonstrated below.

Features of Originality.ai’s Text Compare Tool

Ease of use

Our text compare tool is created with the user in mind, it is designed to be accessible to everyone. Our tool allows users to upload files or enter a URL to extract text, this along with the lightweight design ensures a seamless experience. The interface is simple and straightforward, making it easy for users to compare text and detect the diff.

Multiple text file format support

Our tool provides support for a variety of different text files and microsoft word formats including pdf file, .docx, .odt, .doc, and .txt, giving users the ability to compare text from different sources with ease. This makes it a great solution for students, bloggers, and publishers who are looking for file comparison in different formats.

Protects intellectual property

Our text comparison tool helps you protect your intellectual property and helps prevent plagiarism. This tool provides an accurate comparison of texts, making it easy to ensure that your work is original and not copied from other sources. Our tool is a valuable resource for anyone looking to maintain the originality of their content.

User Data Privacy

Our text compare tool is secure and protects user data privacy. No data is ever saved to the tool, the users’ text is only scanned and pasted into the tool’s text area. This makes certain that users can use our tool with confidence, knowing their data is safe and secure.

Compatibility

Our text comparison tool is designed to work seamlessly across all size devices, ensuring maximum compatibility no matter your screen size. Whether you are using a large desktop monitor, a small laptop, a tablet or a smartphone, this tool adjusts to your screen size. This means that users can compare texts and detect the diff anywhere without the need for specialized hardware or software. This level of accessibility makes it an ideal solution for students or bloggers who value the originality of their work and need to compare text online anywhere at any time.

An apostrophe is a commonly used punctuation mark with a few specific jobs. In appearance, it looks like a single quotation mark (‘).

An apostrophe is used mainly to indicate possession and to create contractions. 

In this refresher, we’ll cover when to use apostrophes in your writing and when not to.

Looking for a quick way to review your copy for grammatical errors? Try the Originality.ai AI Grammar Checker!

A Refresher on Possession in Grammar

The apostrophe is most often used to indicate possession. In grammar, possession refers to the relationship between two things. The relationship is often one of ownership. However, it can also be one of very close association or belonging.

Examples of possession in grammar:

  • That is his toothbrush. (Ownership)
  • Jenny bought her bicycle from Frank. (Ownership)
  • She is his mother. (Close association/belonging)
  • She attended her Girl Scout meeting. (Close association/belonging)

In the first example above, instead of the toothbrush belonging to just anyone and everyone, we know it is ‘his’ toothbrush. His is the possessive here.

Tip: An apostrophe is never used on any of the possessive pronouns (my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, our, ours, their, theirs). 

How to Use an Apostrophe to Indicate Possession

An apostrophe is needed to form the possessive of nouns (singular, plural, proper, and compound). For instance, if the toothbrush above belongs to Frank, it is Frank’s toothbrush. 

Below, we’ll cover examples of how that works and other instances where an apostrophe is used to create possessives.

Singular possessive

To form the possessive of a singular noun, add an apostrophe and an s.

Examples of the singular possessive with an apostrophe:

  • Mary’s toothbrush
  • Samantha’s new apartment
  • The car’s mileage
  • The quiz’s questions
  • The brush’s bristles

Plural possessive

An apostrophe is used without an s if the plural noun ends in s

Examples:

  • The boys baseball caps
  • The guppies fins
  • The kids toys

When a plural noun does not end in s, add the apostrophe and an s.

Examples:

  • The men’s baseball caps
  • The fish’s fins
  • The children’s toys

The possessive form of proper nouns

Proper nouns — nouns that name a specific person, place, or thing — can also be made possessive with the use of apostrophes. 

According to most style guides (see our note on style guides in the next section), apply the basic rules of forming a possessive: add an apostrophe and an s for a singular noun, or add just an apostrophe for a plural noun.

Examples with singular proper nouns (apostrophe + s)

  • The Wheaton Post Office’s hours
  • Mrs. William’s car
  • Iris’s home

Examples with plural proper nouns (apostrophe only):

  • The Smiths’ house 
  • All five Wheaton Post Offices’ branches are closed today.

Style guides can impact apostrophe rules

Depending on the editorial style followed by your organization, singular nouns ending in an s may be treated a little differently when becoming possessive. 

For instance, The Chicago Manual of Style, American Psychological Association (APA), and Associated Press (AP) Stylebook all have instructions on how to treat nouns ending in s. Sometimes they align. However, there can be exceptions or preferences across the guides that differ. 

Let’s take a look at an example:

In this case, AP Style recommends only using an apostrophe because Dickens is a singular proper name with ‘s’ as the last letter. However, both the Chicago Manual of Style and APA prefer if an apostrophe and s are added.

If you are ever in doubt about how to turn a noun ending in s into a possessive, consult your organization’s style guide. 

How to Use an Apostrophe in a Contraction

A contraction is a word that is created when you shorten and merge two words into one. A contraction can also be an abbreviated number. 

In contractions, an apostrophe takes the place of the omitted words, letters, or numbers.

Examples: 

  • Can’t = can not
  • Don’t = do not
  • Who’s = who is
  • It’s = it is
  • ‘60 = 1960
  • ‘90s = 1990s 
  • Would’ve = would have
  • Rock ‘n’ roll = rock and roll

Direction of the apostrophe

If your font uses a curly apostrophe (the one that looks like an upside-down comma), rather than a straight apostrophe, the curve and opening must point to the left (’) to indicate digits are missing.

5 Helpful Apostrophe Tips and Common Errors

1. There is no apostrophe in the possessive its:

Examples:

  • Its = possessive: belonging to it
  • It’s = contraction: it is

2. Plurals of family names only get an ‘s’ when indicating possession

The plural of a family name does not get an apostrophe and an s, except when indicating possession

Examples: 

  • The Thompsons are coming to dinner.
  • Every one of the Smiths is successful.
  • The Thompsons’s house is beautiful.
  • The Smiths success is impressive.

Remember a case like whether Thompsons’s or Smiths’ has an apostrophe and s, or just an apostrophe, could vary depending on your style guide (we’ve included examples of both above).

3. Quasi-possessives can create exceptions

Common phrases or terms may be exceptions like:

  •  your money’s worth
  • a hard day’s work

Both of these examples use an apostrophe. They’re not technically possessives but are called quasi-possessives in grammar. 

4. When two nouns share possession

If two nouns share possession of something, it’s called a shared possessive, and the apostrophe only goes on the last noun. 

For example, if Jim and Judy have kids together, the possessive is: 

  • Jim and Judy’s kids.

However, if two nouns possess things independently, each noun gets an apostrophe in the possessive. 

For example, if Jim has two kids and Judy has two kids the proper grammar is:

  • Jim’s kids and Judy’s kids.

5. Style guides may use an apostrophe for the plural of a letter

Example: dot your i’s and cross your t’s. This varies according to style. 

Final Thoughts

While the main jobs of apostrophes are somewhat clear, as with all grammar, there are exceptions and minutia that you may need to look up in your organization’s preferred dictionary or style guide when you run into them. 

For best practice check your grammar with the Originality.ai AI Grammar Checker to catch any punctuation, grammar, or spelling mistakes. 

Get more insight into grammar rules with our top guides:

Melissa Fanella

Melissa Fanella is a writer, editor, and marketing professional with over 15 years of experience in content and messaging for businesses and nonprofits. Her expertise is in crafting authentic, people-first content that is compelling and engaging for audiences and positioned for business goals.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it important to check for plagiarism?

Tools for conducting a plagiarism check between two documents online are important as it helps to ensure the originality and authenticity of written work. Plagiarism undermines the value of professional and educational institutions, as well as the integrity of the authors who write articles. By checking for plagiarism, you can ensure the work that you produce is original or properly attributed to the original author. This helps prevent the distribution of copied and misrepresented information.

What is Text Comparison?

Text comparison is the process of taking two or more pieces of text and comparing them to see if there are any similarities, differences and/or plagiarism. The objective of a text comparison is to see if one of the texts has been copied or paraphrased from another text. This text compare tool for plagiarism check between two documents has been built to help you streamline that process by finding the discrepancies with ease.

How do Text Comparison Tools Work?

Text comparison tools work by analyzing and comparing the contents of two or more text documents to find similarities and differences between them. This is typically done by breaking the texts down into smaller units such as sentences or phrases, and then calculating a similarity score based on the number of identical or nearly identical units. The comparison may be based on the exact wording of the text, or it may take into account synonyms and other variations in language. The results of the comparison are usually presented in the form of a report or visual representation, highlighting the similarities and differences between the texts.

String comparison is a fundamental operation in text comparison tools that involves comparing two sequences of characters to determine if they are identical or not. This comparison can be done at the character level or at a higher level, such as the word or sentence level.

The most basic form of string comparison is the equality test, where the two strings are compared character by character and a Boolean result indicating whether they are equal or not is returned. More sophisticated string comparison algorithms use heuristics and statistical models to determine the similarity between two strings, even if they are not exactly the same. These algorithms often use techniques such as edit distance, which measures the minimum number of operations (such as insertions, deletions, and substitutions) required to transform one string into another.

Another common technique for string comparison is n-gram analysis, where the strings are divided into overlapping sequences of characters (n-grams) and the frequency of each n-gram is compared between the two strings. This allows for a more nuanced comparison that takes into account partial similarities, rather than just exact matches.

String comparison is a crucial component of text comparison tools, as it forms the basis for determining the similarities and differences between texts. The results of the string comparison can then be used to generate a report or visual representation of the similarities and differences between the texts.

What is Syntax Highlighting?

Syntax highlighting is a feature of text editors and integrated development environments (IDEs) that helps to visually distinguish different elements of a code or markup language. It does this by coloring different elements of the code, such as keywords, variables, functions, and operators, based on a predefined set of rules.

The purpose of syntax highlighting is to make the code easier to read and understand, by drawing attention to the different elements and their structure. For example, keywords may be colored in a different hue to emphasize their importance, while comments or strings may be colored differently to distinguish them from the code itself. This helps to make the code more readable, reducing the cognitive load of the reader and making it easier to identify potential syntax errors.

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