Use a capital letter for the first word of a sentence, for the word I, and for names. Use an apostrophe for missing letters (don't) and for possession (Ana's bag). Do not use an apostrophe to make a plural.
| Use a capital for | Example |
|---|---|
| the first word of a sentence | The train is late. |
| the word I | Yesterday I was ill. |
| names of people and places | Ana lives in Lima. |
| days and months | Monday, March |
| nationalities and languages | Spanish, Japanese, English |
| titles with a name | Doctor Ruiz, Mr Lee |
Do not use a capital for the seasons (summer, winter), or for ordinary words such as doctor or school when they are not part of a name.
An apostrophe shows that one or more letters are missing.
| Full | Short |
|---|---|
| I am | I'm |
| she is | she's |
| do not | don't |
| it is | it's |
| you have | you've |
| it has | it's |
Add 's to a singular noun to show who something belongs to. Add only an apostrophe after a plural noun that ends in s. See Possessive 's and of: a neighbour's garden, the end of the road.
It's means it is or it has. Its shows that something belongs to it. Its has no apostrophe.
Do not use an apostrophe to make a plural noun, or after a possessive pronoun.
✗i live in madrid.
✓I live in Madrid.
Use capitals for I and for names.
✗We like apple's.
✓We like apples.
The apostrophe does not make a plural: use apples for more than one apple.
✗The dog hurt it's paw.
✓The dog hurt its paw.
Possessive its has no apostrophe.
✗The book is her's.
✓The book is hers.
No apostrophe in possessive pronouns.
See Possessive 's and of: a neighbour's garden, the end of the road for 's, my, your, his and mine, yours, his: possessive adjectives and pronouns for my and mine, and Spelling rules for verbs and plurals, and short forms for spelling rules.
Eight questions. Choose one answer for each.