Page 50 - Today’s Business Communication; A How-to Guide for the Modern Professional

WhY MUST I PUT MY AUDIENCE FIRST? 39

Use apostrophes for possessive nouns.
Example: Jason’s marketing report
Use apostrophe + s for possessive nouns that do not end in “s.”
Example: Jason’s marketing report
Use an apostrophe—most of the time—when the possessive noun ends in “s.”
Example: The consultants’ marketing reports
Use apostrophe + s for possessive nouns that end in “s” and can be pronounced after you
add apostrophe + s.
Example: The boss’s decision about the marketing reports
Figure 3.8 Guidelines for using apostrophes

say, the cat possesses the meow. In the sentence, don’t run away from your
writing problems, the word “don’t” is a contraction of the words “do” and
“not.” For most of us, that’s the easy part, but possessives and contractions
can be a little more complicated.
For instance, what’s the difference between “your” and “you’re?” The
first is a possessive and the second is a contraction. In this case, the pos-
sessive does not require an apostrophe, but the contraction needs one.
Similarly, many people use “its” and “it’s” incorrectly. Again, the former
is possessive and the latter is a contraction. An easy way to know if you’re
using “you’re” and “it’s” correctly is to replace the contraction with the
words that the contraction represents. Then, say the sentence out loud. If
“it is” or “you are” sounds wrong, then you probably need to use “its” and
“your” instead. Figure 3.8 offers some additional guidelines for working
with possessives.

Word Choice

Some words sound similar, have spellings that are almost the same, but
have different meanings. Writers frequently make the incorrect selection
in these situations. Here are some of the most common examples of these
words that baffle many writers:

• There/Their/They’re—They’re is a contraction, their is a
possessive, and there will work in all other cases.
• Affect/Effect—Affect is a verb, and effect is typically used as a
noun.
• Then/Than—As a simple guide, you use than when making
comparisons and then when you are not making comparisons.