Question

Explain the purpose of the apostrophe in each word, and explain what the apostrophe is probably replacing. If there is more than one possibility, try to get all possibilities and explain each.

1. It's

2. Sue's
 
3. D'Giorno
 
4. We'll
 
5. '70s
 
6. Bill's
 
7. 'til
 
8. They're
 
9. Aren't
 
10. O'Reilly

Answer 1

There are two different uses of the apostrophe that can be pointed out in these examples:

- In contractions, to indicate where the letters have been omitted. This is present in examples:

1. It's = It is, It has

3. D'Giorno = Di Giorno

4. We'll = We will

5. '70s = 1970s

7. 'til = until

8. They're = They are

9. Aren't = Are not

10. O'Reilly - this is an example of Irish last names. Long ago, the Irish had several forms of patronymic names, which meant that their full names included the name of their ancestor. In Irish, Ó means the descendant of. This became O' in modern English. So, we could say that O'Reilly means the descendant of Reilly.

- To mark possession. When used to express that something belongs to someone, the apostrophe is normally used with the letter S (when the noun is singular). This is present in the examples:

2. Sue's

6. Bill's

In these examples, the apostrophe doesn't replace anything.