Quick question about apostrophes.

before the s

See I always though you put an apostrophe before the s when the word is shortened. For example: there's because the i is missing so the apostrophe replaces it. I'm even more confused now

there is only one child and only one teacher so it goes before the 's'. if there were two then for child it would be children's anyway but for two teachers qualities - it would be teachers'
hope tht helps!! i hate moments like tht when ur brain fails to work!

Where would I put an apostrophe when saying "the childs development" and "does a teachers personal qualities..."?

There are 3 types of S use.

- Plural S (more than 1)
- Contraction S (shortened I word)
- Posession S

Plural S examples
It's John's onions growing over there.
How's Jake's buildings coming on?

Contraction S examples
It's John's onions growing over there.
How's Jake's buildings coming on?

Posession S examples
It's John's onions growing over there.
How's Jake's buildings coming on?

For contractions, it's best to remember this:

it is = it's
how is = how's
where is = where's
that is = that's

If it's 'the childs development', it belongs to the child, so it's a posession. It should be 'the child's development'

If something refers to a posession and plural, the apostrophe normally goes after the word.

the child's development < 1 person
the childrens' development < more than 1

when it is something belonging to the child, it is child's.

When you're talking about something that a group of people collectively have, like...children being innocent, you'd say , the childrens' innocence.

So..individual, before, group, after.