Page 494

Apostrophe

An apostrophe is used to show possession, to form plurals, or to show that one or more letters have been left out of a word.

494.1 In Contractions

An apostrophe is used to show that one or more letters have been left out of a word to form a contraction.

don’t (do not; o is left out)

she’d (she would; woul is left out)

it’s (it is; i is left out)

494.2 In Place of Omitted Letters or Numbers

An apostrophe is used to show that one or more digits have been left out of a number, or that one or more letters have been left out of a word to show its special pronunciation.

class of ’32 (20 is left out)