Sentence examples for needed an apostrophe from inspiring English sources

We needed an apostrophe: "students' growth".

"Dollars" needed an apostrophe here: "… a million dollars' worth …" The 10-year anniversary of the American invasion came and went on Tuesday with barely passing notice in a town once consumed by it.

Did they need an apostrophe?

Many pronouns are routinely abbreviated and need an apostrophe – it's (it is), who's (who is), they're (they are), you're (you are) and so on.

The term "possessive" is misleading; "association" or "relationship" would be more helpful: David might be said to possess "David's book", but hardly "David's favourite football team", although David needs an apostrophe in both cases.

The way to avoid confusing them with the apostrophe-less equivalents its, whose, their or there, and your is to do a quick check of the meaning: in the sentence "there are many people who count their blessings even when they're poor", "they're" is clearly a contraction of "they are" so needs an apostrophe.

I gently brought the error to her attention, pointing out that she didn't need an apostrophe before the "s" since it was a plural noun.

Plurals do NOT need an apostrophe.

Recall that possessive pronouns do not need an apostrophe: his, hers, its, yours, ours, theirs.

Remember that when something's possessive, you'll need an apostrophe.

You seem to need / An apostrophe, / But then, of course, there's Boys Town / Not to mention the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.