Here is how we normally use the apostrophe
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shouldn't means "should not"
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don't means "do not"
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I'm means "I am"
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he'll means "he will"
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who's means "who is"
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didn't means "did not"
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could've means "could have"
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'60 means "1960"
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The Apostrophe is used mostly in two cases:
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- To show a possession.
Example: The CEO's office
- To show an omission of a letter.
Example: Don't do that
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There are several rules of the use of the apostrophe, but most of them are not relevant
in transcription work.
We have, however, covered some cases where the apostrophe should generally be used,
but was omitted.
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- Use of the apostrophe where plural is associated and the word ends with an 's'
Example: "Businesses' dilemmas" is correct when referring to more than one business.
- Adding an apostrophe and 's' even after a word ends with letter 's' if it is a proper
noun.
Example: Texas's small business company
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Some examples of the wrong use of apostrophe:
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- Sincerely your's
- The 1990's
- The decade of the '70's
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The other place where the apostrophe is used wrongly is with possessive pronouns.
Example: His, hers, its, theirs, yours, whose and so on.
Be careful with the use of its and it's. This is one of the places where a lot
of mistakes are made. Remember that "it's" stands for 'it is'.
When proofreading your transcript, find the letters that end with 's' or 'es', and
see if the apostrophe has been used according to the rules.