That Pesky Apostrophe

That pesky apostrophe continues to baffle. Oh sure, I make mistakes myself when I'm flying through some of my own writing, which is why everyone needs an editor.
 
But still, with all the eyes that must have looked at these signs and ads, mistakes were still made.

No Drink’s Allowed (sheesh)  Thank's???

The Most Versatile Crossover In It’s Class (ouch)

So where DOES this pesky mark go? There are some pretty simple rules for apostrophe usage:

1. To show a contraction: The cat’s out of the bag.
2. To show possession: The cat’s feet are out of the bag.
3. To avoid confusion when talking about the plural of lower case letters such as there are two s’s in Mississippi.

You use an apostrophe after the plural s as shown by the Chicago Manual of Style below:

• a consumers’ group
• taxpayers’ associations
• children’s rights
• the women’s team
• a boys’ club

And Chicago Manual of Style dispenses with the apostrophe only in proper names:

• Publishers Weekly
• Diners Club
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• a housewares sale

 Hope that helps a bit!