Apostrophes
አፖስትሮፊ (apostrophe)
The apostrophe (') does two jobs: it shows that something belongs to someone (Meron's phone) and it marks letters left out (don't). It never makes a plural.
Possession: 's and s'
Amharic shows possession with የ- or an ending (የመሮን ስልክ, ስልኳ). English adds 's to the owner: Meron's phone. If the owner is a plural ending in -s, add only the apostrophe: my parents' house (two parents). If the plural does not end in -s, add 's: the children's school, women's clothes.
In Amharic
አማርኛ ባለቤትነትን በ የ- ወይም በመጨረሻ ቅጥያ ያሳያል (የመሮን ስልክ፣ ስልኳ)። እንግሊዝኛ ለባለቤቱ 's ይጨምራል፦ Meron's phone። ባለቤቱ በ -s የሚያልቅ ብዙ ቁጥር ከሆነ አፖስትሮፊን ብቻ ይጨምሩ፦ my parents' house (ሁለት ወላጆች)። ብዙ ቁጥሩ በ -s ካላለቀ 's ይጨምሩ፦ the children's school, women's clothes።
| Owner | Add | Example |
|---|---|---|
| one person or thing | 's | my brother's car, the company's office |
| a name ending in -s | 's (or ' ) | James's job / James' job |
| plural ending in -s | ' | the students' books, my parents' house |
| plural not ending in -s | 's | the children's toys, men's shoes |
| two owners together | 's on the last one | Abel and Sara's apartment |
- Possession is for people and animals mostly. For things, English often uses of: the door of the car, or a compound: the car door.
- Time expressions take 's too: today's news, two weeks' notice.
- Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe: yours, hers, ours, theirs, its.
- My daughter's teacher sent an email.
- The workers' break room is on the second floor.
- Is this your coat or Hanna's?
- The landlord wants two months' rent as a deposit.
- The children's clinic opens at eight.
Contractions: don't, it's, I'm
In a contraction, two words become one and the apostrophe stands where the letters were removed: do not → don't (the o is gone). Contractions are normal in speech, texts and friendly emails; in formal letters and forms, write the full words.
In Amharic
በአሕጽሮት ሁለት ቃላት አንድ ይሆናሉ፤ አፖስትሮፊው የተወገዱት ፊደላት በነበሩበት ቦታ ይቆማል፦ do not → don't (o ወጥቷል)። አሕጽሮቶች በንግግር፣ በጽሑፍ መልዕክትና በወዳጃዊ ኢሜይል የተለመዱ ናቸው፤ በመደበኛ ደብዳቤና ቅጽ ላይ ሙሉ ቃላቱን ይጻፉ።
| Full form | Contraction | Full form | Contraction |
|---|---|---|---|
| I am | I'm | do not | don't |
| you are | you're | does not | doesn't |
| it is / it has | it's | cannot | can't |
| they are | they're | will not | won't |
| I have | I've | is not | isn't |
| I will | I'll | let us | let's |
- The apostrophe goes where letters are missing, not between the words: doesn't (not does'nt).
- won't is irregular: will not → won't.
- it's always means it is or it has. its (no apostrophe) means belonging to it: The dog wants its food.
- I'm sorry, I can't come to the meeting.
- It's cold this morning, isn't it?
- The phone is old, and its battery doesn't last.
- They're moving to a bigger apartment.
- Let's meet at the coffee shop at four.
Never for plurals
A plural is just -s or -es, with no apostrophe: two apartments, many jobs. Shop signs like “Apple's for sale” are wrong. Years and abbreviations are plural without an apostrophe too: the 1990s, three IDs.
In Amharic
ብዙ ቁጥር -s ወይም -es ብቻ ነው፣ ያለ አፖስትሮፊ፦ two apartments, many jobs። እንደ “Apple's for sale” ያሉ የሱቅ ምልክቶች ስሕተት ናቸው። ዓመታትና አሕጽሮተ ቃላትም ያለ አፖስትሮፊ ብዙ ቁጥር ይሆናሉ፦ the 1990s, three IDs።
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| two car's | two cars | plural |
| the car's are parked | the cars are parked | plural |
| the 1980's | the 1980s | plural of a decade |
| DVD's | DVDs | plural of an abbreviation |
| the car's door | the car's door | possession: correct |
- Ask: does it belong to someone, or are letters missing? If neither, no apostrophe.
- Verbs with -s never take an apostrophe: She works (not She work's).
- We have three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
- Fresh tomatoes, two dollars a pound.
- She works at two hotels on the Strip.
- My parents came to the US in the 2000s.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| It's a nice day. | It's = it is: the apostrophe marks the missing i. | |
| The cat licked its paw. | its (belonging to it) has no apostrophe, like his and her. | |
| We sell shoes and bags. | Plurals never take an apostrophe. | |
| This is my brother's car. | English needs 's to show the owner; Amharic word order alone is not enough. | |
| Is this pen yours? | Possessive pronouns (yours, hers, ours, theirs) have no apostrophe. | |
| He doesn't know. | The apostrophe stands where the o of not was removed. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
___ raining again.
The company changed ___ hours.
Write the contraction of “do not”.
the car that belongs to my brother = my ___ car
The house belongs to my mother and father. It is my ___ house.
Which sign is correct?
Write the contraction of “will not”.
The ___ playground is closed for repairs.
Is this umbrella ___?
Write the contraction of “they are”.