I’m sure that some of you have mastered how to use apostrophes and know the difference between these words. Still, when we are tired, or in a hurry, our grammar skills can go out the window. Hopefully, this list of commonly misused words will help you with your writing no matter how much knowledge you have about apostrophes!

 

(Almost) always use an apostrophe to show possession, and (almost) never a plural

Example sentence: I prefer not to touch my dog’s bone after he has slobbered all over it.

Exception #1: If you are using pronouns (like hers, theirs, yours, mine, his, its, ours), don’t use an apostrophe.

Example sentence:  When Harry Met Sally… is a favorite movie of ours.

Exception #2: Use apostrophes to make single letter plural.

For example:  In The Princess Bride, Peter Falk as the Impressive Clergyman sneaks 15 W’s into words that don’t usually have them during the wedding scene.

 

Know the difference between there, their and they’re

There means either a. the opposite of here (at that place); or b. it is used as a pronoun to introduce a word or part of a sentence.

Example sentences:

  1. The students loved Wendy’s so much they would go there every school day w when they had the money.
  2. There’s no business like show business.

Their means “belongs to them.”

Example sentence: Toddlers often think everything they see is theirs.

They’re is a contraction of “they are” or “they were.”

Example sentence: I adore my friends because they’re lovable weirdos.

 

They sound the same but mean two different things: Your and you’re

Your is the possessive form of you.

Example sentence: Your eyes shine merrily when you laugh.

You’re is a contraction which means you are.

Example sentence: You’re awesome!

 

Know when to use it’s and when to use its

It’s is a contraction that means it is or it has.

Example sentence: I hate it when it’s time to wake up as I love to sleep.

Its is the possessive form of it.

Example sentence: The cat is out of its bag.

 

Here’s the difference between let’s and lets (this is the one I have the most trouble with)

Let’s is a contraction that means let us.

Example sentence: Let’s eat cake.

Lets means something that happens because someone or something allows it to happen:

Example sentence: She lets the cat lick her face because she thinks it’s cute.

Here’s a trick when it comes to contractions:  read a sentence to yourself replacing it’s with it is or it has, you’re with you are, etc. If the sentence makes no sense, you’re using the wrong form.

Example incorrect sentence: The cat ignored it’s owner. (Read this as: The cat ignored it is owner.)

 

One thing I recommend everyone download is the Grammarly app, found at www.grammarly.com. It’s an online grammar and spell checker that comes in free and premium versions. The free version is very robust, and it is what I use. You can use it as a browser extension if you have Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox so if you are writing anything online, it will automatically be checked. You can also use it with Microsoft Office and you can upload a document to the website.