Apostrophes for missing letters in Year 2 The English seem to have a love affair with apostrophes; they are all around us. Unfortunately, all too often they pop up in the wrong places. We have all seen greengrocers selling potato’s, or shops selling biro’s! Some people think punctuation such as the apostrophe is redundant in the modern age but they are still an important part of the English curriculum for primary school children. The new English Programme of Study states that apostrophes to mark where letters are missing in spelling should be taught in Year 2. This is, indeed, quite a tricky task and it is important that the use of apostrophes in contractions is revisited in later years. In journalism the apostrophe when used in a contraction is frowned upon and they are usually found in speech, not when writing a report. We have recently published four great sets of pages to get started with using apostrophes to show where missing letters are. These first sets of worksheets include work on: did not – didn’t               does not – doesn’t                    do not – don’t is not – isn’t                   must not – mustn’t had not – hadn’t             has not – hasn’t                        have not – haven’t could not – couldn’t         would not – wouldn’t he had – he’d                     he will – he’ll                   he is – he’s she had – she’d                   she will – she’ll                she is – she’s we had – we’d             we are – we’re we have – we’ve           let us – let’s what is – what’s                     where is – where’s                   that is – that’s there is – there’s                     it is – it’s I had – I’d             I will  – I’ll     I am – I’m I have – I’ve     they are – they’re ............ as well as others. Why not take a look at our worksheets on apostrophes for missing letters, suitable for children in Year 2 onwards. Go to apostrophe worksheets and other punctuation pages.