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Are you giving apostrophes too much love? Or are you neglecting them? Strengthen your relationship with this important punctuation mark without stifling it.

Apostrophes function in various ways. They show when a letter has been omitted. They signify possession. Apostrophes used in places they don't belong can create confusion or distraction for the reader. Missing apostrophes can do the same.

The following excerpt is from Purdue's OWL (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/621/01/). Clicking on the link will take you to a page that explains apostrophe usage.

"Try the following strategies to proofread for apostrophes:

If you tend to leave out apostrophes, check every word that ends in -s or -es to see if it needs an apostrophe.
If you put in too many apostrophes, check every apostrophe to see if you can justify it with a rule for using apostrophes."

Use this strategy with every punctuation situation. If you know that your punctuation skills are shaky, try justifying your use of every punctuation mark. If you know you sometimes leave out a punctuation mark (or use one in place of another, like a period for a question mark), examine instances where this mistake might have been made and evaluate your choice.

The only ones I'm always unsure of is when it's proper to use its' and and in cases where the word ends in an s. I think it's would be used if IT is the subject, but I'm unsure.

"The good ol' coffee shop still serves strong espresso," is correct I believe, but usually only used in speech.

"Sandalos' theory is based on..." would be correct if the name is Sandalos. This is where I run into trouble though. Let's say that you have multiple pursuers. Would you refer to, "The pursuers goal was the same," or, "The pursuers' goal was the same?"

Barry, if you click on the link, there is an explanation about how writers shouldn't use apostrophes with possessive pronouns. That may help you, but this is an easy way to remember. Only use "it's" when you can replace the word with "it is." Otherwise, it is "its."

It's time for the weekend. (It is time for the weekend.)
The book was old and its pages were worn. (The book was old and "it is" pages were worn? Nope.)

I'm not sure if this was a typo, but i-t-s-apostrophe (its') does not exist in nature. It is a Frankenstein creation. Be afraid of it and run away.

In your plural example:
The pursuers' goal was the same. (Correct. You can replace "pursuers' goal" with "goal of the pursuers." OWL gives a good rule of thumb - do not use possessives "if the noun after 'of' is a building, an object, or a piece of furniture." In this case, "pursuers" are people.)

More examples:
Today's world (world of today)
Night's mystery (mystery of the night)
Dog's bowl (bowl belonging to the dog)
Dogs' bowl (bowl belonging to more than one dog)

Ed, just a little note to let you know that I lol-ed at "Its' is a Frankenstein creation. Be afraid of it and run away." Just the kind of thing to lighten up my Friday afternoon.

Thanks!

:)