Hey guys, I'm editing a story and trying to step up my grammar and would like some feedback on using apostrophes. Would I need to put an apostrophe for the name of a restauraunt that has an "s" at the end? the name is "Mariscos", if so...is it before or after the "s". And also for non-noun plurals my grammar book says to put it before the s but it's optional. Here is my example. "They decided to have no children since both of them felt they were not emotionally capable of giving a child its needs adequately." I am not sure wether the apostrophe for "its" should be before or after the "s". Any feedback is really appreciated!, thanks!
If the name of the restaurant owner is Marisco, then the name of the restaurant is Marisco's. Its versus It's is easy. The apostrophe is there to substitute for a letter, in this case, "i". "It's" is therefore a contraction of "It is." Any time you see "it's," read "it is." If the usage is a possessive (meaning you're referring to something belong to "it"), then it's "its" without the apostrophe. The confusion may come from the fact that when you're using an actual name in a possessive, you use the apostrophe. For example, "John's bicycle" or "Jane's computer." But if you're using "it," then there is no apostrophe. "The sun was so hot its rays burned my skin." In your example, therefore, it should be "They decided to have no children since both of them felt they were not emotionally capable of giving a child its needs adequately." There is no apostrophe, either before or after the s. The reason is that in this case, "its" is not a contraction of "it is."
Yes, Minstrel is right. Always say 'it is' to yourself, when you are tempted to put an apostrophe into 'its.' If 'it is' makes sense, then use the apostrophe. If it doesn't, don't!
