Pet Peeve: Apostrophes

Dear People of The World,

An apostrophe ( ' ) is used to make words POSSESSIVE. That's right.Possessive means to show ownership of something. To do this, you add an apostrophe and an S ('s) to a singular possessive word:
Right: Joe's car. The car is owned by Joe.

This still applies even if the name ends in an S. If Mary Jones owns a car (still Singular Possessive):
Wrong: Mary Jones' car
Right: Mary Jones's car

Because the S on the end of Jones does not make it plural, you use the typical 's.

Apostrophes are NEVER used to make something PLURAL... NEVER EVER EVER EVER. This applies even to the name of a couple or family:
Wrong: The Smith's (This is wrong; really it is. PLEASE stop writing it. Please. I will throw your Christmas card AWAY if you sign it this way. Seriously. Please stop. I can't take it.)
Right: The Smiths

It is never correct to write "The Smith's." Never. It is correct to write, "Joe Smith's car."

Now, here is where it can get tricky: when the people's last name ends in an S, or even ES like Jones. To talk about the whole family (or plural):
Wrong: The Jones'
Right: The Joneses

I know it looks funny, but I am right on this one. I promise.

When a word is plural (ending in s) and possessive, you can just use an apostrophe:
Wrong: The Smiths's car
Right: The Smiths' car.

Here is the real kicker. When someone's last name is plural, ends in es and is possessive:
Wrong: The Jones's Home
Right: The Joneses' Home

I'm glad we had this talk.