Know Whether Apostrophes Show Possession or Contraction

Apostrophes have two main uses.

They can show possession, which means who something belongs to.

For example:

the dog's dinner

Here, the apostrophe shows that the dinner belongs to the dog.

They can also be used for contraction, which means missing out letters from a word.

For example:

The dog doesn't want to eat its dinner.

Here, the apostrophe shows that the letter 'o' has been missed out. Doesn't is short for does not.

Want a bit more help with this before you begin? Why not watch this short video?