This template uses the decimal code for the apostrophe or single-quote character so that it doesn't become interpreted with adjacent italics ('') or bold (''') wiki markup. This situation most commonly arises when taking the possessive of titles that should be italicized. {{'}} is shorter than <nowiki>'</nowiki> and clearer than an unadorned &#39;.

This template leaves leading space before the apostrophe, unlike the similar {{`}} (no spacing). This template is intended for use with italic text, whereas {{`}} is intended for use with non-italic text. For example:

  • The ''Iliad''{{'}}s vocabulary is archaic.

generates:

  • The Iliad's vocabulary is archaic.

with a tiny amount of space before the apostrophe to avoid colliding with the italic d at the end of Iliad. Conversely, {{`}} should be used if the text is already italicized. For example:

  • ''The ''Iliad''{{`}}s vocabulary is archaic.''

generates:

  • The Iliad's vocabulary is archaic.

without the extra space, which would be distracting here.

The equivalent template when manually placing double quotes around a single-quoted passage is {{" '}}; see also {{' "}} for the right-hand side equivalent. All of these templates use 0.2em of spacing, while {{'}}, this template, uses only 0.05em of spacing.