Shortening Words and Phrases

Apostrophes are used when a word or phrase is shortened for ease of pronounciation.

Examples

Cases where an apostrophe is no longer necessary

Many short words originate from longer words, for example photo (from photograph), keeper (from goalkeeper). Until recent years, it was common practice to write photo' or 'keeper; however, the shortened words have been adopted as words in their own right and it is not necessary to use apostrophes to acknowledge the longer form.