Common mistake Wrong apostrophe character
Wrong apostrophe character
One common mistake that is often made in writing is the use of an accent character instead of an apostrophe. This can happen when people are not familiar with the proper use of punctuation marks or when they mistakenly use the wrong character on their keyboards.
What is an accent character?
An accent character, also known as a diacritic, is a mark that is added to a letter to indicate a specific pronunciation or to distinguish it from other similar letters. For example, in French, the word "école" has an accent character (é) on the letter "e" which changes its pronunciation to "ay".
What is an apostrophe?
An apostrophe is a punctuation mark that is used to indicate possession or to show the omission of letters in contractions. For example, in the sentence "John's car is red", the apostrophe is used to show that the car belongs to John.
Examples of wrong apostrophe usage
Here are a few examples of incorrect usage of accent characters instead of apostrophes:
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Incorrect: The cat's are cute.
Correct: The cats are cute.
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Incorrect: I can't find my mother's car's key's.
Correct: I can't find my mother's car keys.
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Incorrect: There's no way he'ld agree to that.
Correct: There's no way he'd agree to that.
How to correctly use apostrophes
To avoid using accent characters instead of apostrophes, it is important to remember the following rules:
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Use an apostrophe to show possession: The cat's toy.
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Use an apostrophe to indicate the omission of letters in contractions: I don't know.
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Do not use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns: its, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs.
Using the correct punctuation marks is essential for clear and effective communication. However, it is common for people to make mistakes when it comes to apostrophes. To ensure that your writing is error-free, you can use the Linguix grammar checker. This tool will automatically detect any incorrect usage of apostrophes and suggest the correct punctuation for you.
Wrong apostrophe character mistake examples
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Incorrect:You shouldn´t do it!Correct:You shouldn't|shouldn’t do it!
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Incorrect:She´ll make a decision tomorrow.Correct:She'll|She’ll make a decision tomorrow.
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Incorrect:I´ll be here.Correct:I'll|I’ll be here.
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Incorrect:You´ll have to decide.Correct:You'll|You’ll have to decide.
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Incorrect:You shouldn;t do it!Correct:You shouldn't|shouldn’t do it!
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Incorrect:I couldn t do it!Correct:I couldn't|couldn’t do it!
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Incorrect:What´s the problem?Correct:What's|What’s the problem?
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Incorrect:... and what`ll you do?Correct:... and what'll|what’ll you do?
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Incorrect:... but who´d do it?Correct:... but who'd|who’d do it?
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Incorrect:... and that`d be a problem for us.Correct:... and that'd|that’d be a problem for us.
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Correct:What’s the problem?
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Correct:... as follows: (`s, ´t, ...).
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Correct:Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas played a part in the...
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Incorrect:The book´s easy to read.Correct:The book's|book’s easy to read.
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Incorrect:Go to the travel agent`s office.Correct:Go to the travel agent's|agent’s office.
