History: I could not really find anything on the history of apostrophes, but the term "greengrocers' apostrophe" has been created for when an apostrophe is used incorrectly to pluralize a word by adding an apostrophe plus an "s" instead of the correct ending. An example would be "Apple's are on sale". The term was likely introduced in England during the 1950s when many foreign store-owners would incorrectly use apostrophes in their signs. The term came from frequent incorrect usage of apostrophes in grocery stores, but now applies to more than just grocery stores.

Usage/Examples:

Apostrophesare used to show thepossessiveform of nouns. Here are some rules for how to use an apostrophe when the noun ispossessive.

-Add 's to singular nouns, even when they end in s

Examples: cat's bowl, James's book

-Add 's to plural nouns that do not end in s

Example: children's toys

Add ' to the end of plural nouns that end in s

Example: cars' doors

Do not use apostrophes withpossessivepronouns, such as its, his, my, and yours, because they already show possession.

Apostrophes are also used to show the omission of letters in a contraction. A contraction is a shortened form of a word or a group of words.

Examples: she's (she is), don't (do not)

It is important to note that the apostrophe is placed where letters have been omitted and that that is not always in the same spot that the two words have been put together.

Works Cited

"The Apostrophe." Online Writing Lab. Purdue University Online Writing Lab. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_apost.html>.

Nordquist, Richard. Guidelines for Using Apostrophes Correctly.About.com: Grammar and Composition. <http://grammar.about.com/od/punctuationandmechanics/tp/guideapostrophe.htm>.

Pollick, Michael. What are Greengrocers' Apostrophes?2003. wiseGEEK. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-greengrocers-apostrophes.htm>.