Apóstrofo

Apóstrofo is a punctuation mark, represented by a small comma raised above the baseline of a word. It serves several functions in various languages. In English, it is primarily used to indicate the omission of letters, as in "don't" for "do not" or "o'clock" for "of the clock." It also denotes possession, such as in "John's book" or "the cat's toy."

In languages like Italian and French, the apostrophe is crucial for indicating elision, where a vowel at the end of one word is dropped before a word beginning with a vowel. For instance, in Italian, "l'amico" is used instead of "lo amico" (the friend), and in French, "l'heure" replaces "la heure" (the hour). This elision helps with pronunciation and the flow of speech.

Spanish, however, does not use the apostrophe for these purposes. Instead, contractions in Spanish are formed differently or not at all. For example, "al" is a mandatory contraction of "a el" (to the), and "del" is a mandatory contraction of "de el" (of the). The apostrophe is generally absent from standard Spanish orthography. The use and convention of the apostrophe vary significantly across different languages, reflecting their unique phonetic and grammatical structures. Its presence or absence impacts how words are written and pronounced.