Wet Willy said...
Yes, you need an apostrophy for contractions and when showing possession.
But, not for plurals! "I've got two dog's." WRONG!! Go and stand in the corner!
Now, there's another rule about using an apostrophy to show possession - can anybody tell us what it is?
And how do you spell apostrophy?
Back a million years ago, (or was it 50? Yes. That was it. 50 years ago. It just feels like a million years. Now what was I saying? Dang! I forgot! No Wait! I remember now! )
Back 50 years ago you had to use an apostrophe for contractions AND possession because in old english it was said that "Willy's windsurfer" was a contraction of "Willy, his windsurfer".
It has recently been agreed by the official custodians of the english language that nobody speaks like that anymore, and in fact hasn't in the living memory of anybody alive today. And so the apostrophe use in the possessive has been made redundant.
So, Willy, and all you other elderly and infirm, be advised that apostrophes are ONLY used in the case of contractions, NOT POSSESSIVES!
Examples:
"Willy's wet" meaning Willy is wet.
"Willy's wet the bed" meaning Willy has wet the bed.
"Willys windsurfer" meaning the windsurfer belonging to Willy. No apostrophe!
"It's cold" meaning it is cold.
"Its mother" meaning the mother of it. No apostrophe!
'It's becoming cold" meaning it is becoming cold.
Brush up! There will be a written examination in 1 hour!
{edit} "Nobody" has already recorded a FAIL so he can have the rest of the day off.
{double edit} Geez! Having said all that, on looking this up on the net I can't find any reference to the ruling to remove the apostrophe from possessives.
In fact all the references I looked up said it was still in use. ??
Oh well. I might just go back to sleep.
The written examination has been cancelled!
Sausage is right. 
Yes English was my worst subject.
