The apostrophe [’] is a comma cast on the upper edge of a type, and is
used as a sign of contraction or abbreviation of words in poetry or
familiar conversation, as _We’re_, _o’er_, _don’t_, &c. In poetry, it
should not be employed where the verb ends with e, as _love_, _change_,
&c., but only in cases where the verb concludes with a consonant, as,
_reign_, _obtain_, &c. It also marks the elision of a vowel at the
beginning of words, as, _’scape_, or of a syllable, as, _’prentice_.
The monosyllables _though_ and _through_ are sometimes shortened to
_tho’_ and _thro’_, but very improperly, as they retain the same
sound, and the abbreviation cannot in the slightest degree assist the
versification.
Words in the possessive case are generally known by having _’s_ for their
termination.
All quotations which are denoted at the beginning by inverted commas
are closed with apostrophes. There is no space required between the
apostrophe and the matter.