Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMercenary
Yea, I always screw that up thinking it is to show possession, when that should be reserved for nouns and pronouns. My bad.
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Possessive Apostrophe S: Nouns do. Possessive pronouns don't. So as not to get mixed up with contractions. The rule isn't even arbitrary; it's got a reason.
So ambiguity only pops up with a contraction constructed on a noun -- and you resort to context to determine meaning.
One should always keep a copy of Strunk & White near to hand. Despite its decretal tone, which can irritate a little, only one or two of its usage ukases have obsolesced since it was written for the help of incoming freshmen in the nineteen-twenties.