Shadowing Practice: Why is the apostrophe so confusing to use? / How to use the apostrophe in English (complete) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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in english grammar the apostrophe can be used in more than one way
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so first of all we will look at how we can
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use apostrophes in our day -to -day lives normally of course in writing or if you are typing
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maybe you are sending an email
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and you want to use correct grammar well the apostrophe can
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be a little confusing for everyone first of all as an indication of a shortened sentence or
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quite often we call it a contraction to contract is to make something smaller you make something
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smaller you contract that particular thing it is a contraction so in grammar for example we will say
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we are well you can also say where we are
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and the contraction is where we're going on holiday this year we are we are
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and you can see there is an apostrophe in the place where the words
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or the letters are missing so that is the basic use of an apostrophe
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when we are using contractions so
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if you are writing typing whatever it is we often use contractions
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and that is one of the uses of the apostrophe you could also say
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that is with the apostrophe
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and also the contraction you can say that's don't forget the apostrophe shows that that is a contraction.
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We could also have they are.
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They are or with the contraction they're.
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They're here they are here
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that is my drink that's my drink we
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are going on holiday we're going on holiday we are
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that is they are and you can see quite clearly
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that the apostrophe is being used to show that it is a contraction
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so that is one use the apostrophe is placed where the omitted letter letter was
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so that is the reason why we put something in place of the letter
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that has been hidden or omitted to omit is to remove or leave something out you omit something to omit
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so when you do that in the form of a contraction you will always use an apostrophe
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a shortened word might also have an added apostrophe for example
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if you want to shorten the word government in writing
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that is how you will do it you are shortening the word you are removing letters from
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that word so in place of those missing words or letters you will put
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an apostrophe so there is another interesting use of the apostrophe as well
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quite often and this is where a lot of people make mistakes to indicate the possessive case
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when we talk about possessive we are talking about something that is owned or something that belongs
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to a certain thing you are stating that thing as belonging or maybe being part of something For example,
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you can say a man's hat.
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A man's hat.
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You can see here we have an apostrophe showing that the hat belongs to the man.
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You can also have the dog's tail.
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The tail is part of the dog.
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The dog's tail.
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That thing is part of the dog.
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You might say that the tail
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belongs to the dog you might also say the bank's money the bank's money is the money that belongs
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to the bank it is theirs it belongs to them
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and the apostrophe clearly shows that
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that is true to indicate plurals of abbreviations
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and symbols for example you might have several MDs
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MD is normally used to describe a doctor a medical doctor a person involved in medicine
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but quite often they will shorten they will abbreviate
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that term to md so
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if you have lots of medical doctors in one room we can say several mds
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so there you can see we are using the plural not the possessive
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also symbols as well such as symbols used in grammar
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or numbers when they are written down as the actual number enter the room in threes
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if a group of people are coming into the room
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and they are coming in in groups of three people we
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can say they are coming in in threes we are showing
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that each group consists of three people the title where a plural can be used
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but is intended as a possessive will have the apostrophe placed at the end of the word
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so some words can express the plural but
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when we want to show the possessive of
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that we simply put the apostrophe at the end quite often
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when we are talking about something that is designed for the use of a certain group of people.
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For example, teachers college.
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Well, of course, teachers can be plural.
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In this sense, of course, we want to show it as possessive.
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So we simply put the apostrophe at the end of the word to show
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that that is being used as the possessive the use of apostrophes on signs
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has been a much debated topic over the years and this is the point i want to make about apostrophes
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quite often people will have arguments they will fight over the use of apostrophes
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and quite often people will make mistakes here is a very good example
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so you can see here on this shop sign all of these words are using apostrophes however they are expressing it
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as the plural
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so there is no need they do not need to put apostrophes at the end of those words
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or in those words so you could remove the apostrophes from all of those words
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and they would make more sense
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because you are talking about plural things lots of beds lots of mattresses lots of sofas
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we are using the plural so
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that is the reason why this particular sign is not correct
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because they are using the apostrophes incorrectly here's another good example
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it is not unusual to see signs such as this quite
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often even in this country now quite often i do say
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that this is the birth place of the english language
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and this picture was actually taken in england
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so this is someone who who has gone a little bit crazy with their use of apostrophes
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so none of these apostrophes should be there
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because you are talking about things plural things that exist in a large quantity something you are doing every day
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as part of your business so all of these
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all of these apostrophes are in the wrong place they shouldn't even be there
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and it is a common problem even in british english a
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lot of people get it wrong wrong I'm sure someone is going to ask Mr Duncan what is a cam belt
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I think a cam belt is the piece of rubber that goes around all of the drive wheels I think so
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it is moments like this where I wish Mr Steve was here because he knows everything about cars
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Street signs can also cause debate over one thing and that one thing
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is the apostrophe you can see here the top sign says St Mary's walk but there is no apostrophe
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and at the bottom you can see there is an apostrophe
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because we are saying that thing relates to
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that person it is named after that person so the name of
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that road or that street has been named after a person
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so normally we will put an apostrophe because it relates to that person
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rather like Saint Paul's Cathedral Saint Paul's Cathedral has an apostrophe
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because it is named named after him finally oh
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dear the classic market stall across apostrophe can still create confusion
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so you might see the apostrophe being used in marketplaces for example you can see there there, tomatoes.
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We are using that word to show the plural.
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However, there is an apostrophe, but it shouldn't be there.
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It should not be there.
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Tomatoes is the plural,
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not the possessive also you can see there potatoes now that is really badly spelt potatoes as plural
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has oes at the end so that is wrong for two reasons first of all it's spelt incorrectly
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and also it does not need an apostrophe next to it there is no need to have an apostrophe
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next to it so as you can see the apostrophe even though it's a very small thing
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it is also something that a lot of people get rather angry about because they believe
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that it should always be used in the correct way
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so look out for those apostrophes the next time you see one of those look out
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because if you get it wrong you might get into serious trouble And have fun
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What You'll Learn
This video is a goldmine for anyone looking to learn English with videos—you’ll master two key skills: using apostrophes correctly in writing and speaking, and understanding how contractions (like "we're" or "that's") shape natural conversation. You’ll also get better at spotting possessive forms (e.g., "the dog's tail")—a common tricky area. These skills aren’t just for grammar tests; they’ll make your emails, texts, and spoken English sound more polished and native-like.
Listen For These Sounds
Pay close attention to how contractions simplify speech! The video uses phrases like "we're going" and "that's my drink"—notice how the apostrophe replaces missing sounds (the "a" in "we are" becomes an apostrophe in "we're"). This is connected speech in action: native speakers don’t pause between "we" and "are"—they blend them into "we're." Listen for the smooth transition, and you’ll start to hear how contractions make conversations flow faster and sound more natural.
Say It Like a Native
Ready to try the shadowing technique? Pause the video after phrases like "they're here" or "the bank's money" and repeat them immediately, mimicking the speaker’s rhythm and stress. Notice how "they're" is shorter than "they are"—stress the first syllable ("they") and glide over the apostrophe sound. For possessives like "a man's hat," stress the noun ("man") to highlight ownership. This shadow speak practice will train your mouth to form contractions effortlessly, making your English sound less scripted and more conversational. Keep at it—even 5 minutes a day of shadowspeaks will boost your confidence in English speaking practice!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can be used · is placed · has been hidden |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has been hidden · has been · has gone |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might also have · might say · might also say |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should be · shouldn't even be |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.