Types of Punctuation – Slashes and Apostrophes – Beginner

Slashes
Slashes ( / ) work in a similar way to hyphens, combining words and letters into compounds. The slash is generally considered an informal punctuation mark, as it provides a shorthand way of expressing connections between words. For example:
“Each candidate must be sure to provide his/her [his or her] references before the interview.”
“Whoever is leading the group study, he/she [he or she] needs to keep detailed notes about how the time is spent.”
“We’ll need a signed statement from you and/or your employer [one, the other, or both].”
“Rent is $650/month [$650 per month], due on the first day of each month.”
“This singer/songwriter’s [singer who is also a songwriter] work never fails to impress.”
Slashes are also used to form abbreviations in very informal writing, as in quick notes or messages. For instance:
“Use hyphens b/w [between] compounds.”
“Our shop has been open 24/7 [24 hours a day, seven days a week] since we first started up 30 years ago.”
“Will be late b/c [because] of traffic.”
In formal writing, such as academic papers, slashes are used to show line breaks in poetry quotations. Conventionally, this is the only time when spaces are used around a slash. For example:
“I’d like to include the following lines from Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet
116’ in our wedding ceremony: ‘Love is not love / Which alters when it alteration finds, / Or bends with the remover to remove: / O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark, / That looks on tempests and is never shaken.’”

Apostrophes
The apostrophe ( ’ ) is used to form contractions (two words shortened and merged into one) as well as to show possession.
When used in contractions, the apostrophe replaces the letters that are omitted from one of the two words. For instance:
“This plan doesn’t [does not] make any sense.”
“It’s [it is] a very unfortunate circumstance.”
“I hope you’re [you are] happy in your new job.”
“Please don’t [do not] do anything you aren’t [are not] sure about.”
When showing possession, the apostrophe comes before the letter “s” for singular nouns (and irregular plurals) or after the letter “s” in regular plural nouns:
“We were looking everywhere for Jonathan’s bike!”
“The kids’ play room is a mess.”
“We could stay in my family’s cabin for the weekend.”
“Police are gathering witnesses’ testimonies regarding the incident.”
“We’ll have to rely on people’s donations to stay open.”

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