The Apostrophe
The Apostrophe
In many languages, when people want to show ownership or possession of an object, they simply state what is being owned and who owns it.
For example, if a house belonged to my mother and my father, many languages would simply say, "That is the house of my mother and father." This could be said in English as well, but another option has been added to make it "easier" for people to say and write.
This second option is the possessive apostrophe. So instead of saying, "the house of my mother and father," we could simply say, "my mother and father's house." We eliminate of and replace it with an -'s.
This seems simple, but it can be difficult to determine where a possessive apostrophe is supposed to go and why some words need a possessive apostrophe and some don't.
These five rules will hopefully explain why and how the possessive apostrophe is used. A quick overview of each rule is as follows:
Singular possession: add -'s.
Plural possession: add -'.
Irregular plural possession: add -'s.
Compound noun possession: add -'s to the last word, not the first or both.
Multiple subjects have possession: add -'s to each subject.
These rules will be further explained in the following slides.
Add -'s to the end of a singular noun that doesn't end in -s.
Where is the cat's dish?
The cat may not have bought its dish, but the dish is used only by the cat and belongs to him. So instead of saying, where is the dish that belongs to the cat, we can say, where is the cat's dish.
Tina's car has a flat tire.
Tina owns the car that she is driving. So instead of saying, the car that Tina owns has a flat tire, we can say, Tina's car has a flat tire.
The boy's hat flew off in the wind.
The boy was wearing the hat that belonged to him. Instead of saying, the hat that belonged to the boy flew off in the wind, we can say, the boy's hat flew off in the wind.
When a noun has determiners, adjectives, or other modifiers, only the noun gets the apostrophe.
The English as a second language teacher's shoes do not match her dress.
My mother-in-law's wedding ring is beautiful.
If there are multiple plurals, it is best not to use a possessive apostrophe. Simply write out the sentence to explain the possession.
Those cars belong to friends of mine. (Instead of: Those are friends of mine's cars.)
When a noun is plural, it typically ends in an -s. So do we add an -'s even though an -s is already there?
Add only an apostrophe to a plural noun that ends in -s. In this case, the apostrophe has the same meaning as the -'s.
My parents' house is very clean.
The noun parents indicates that there is more than one parent, so only an apostrophe is used.
The boys' dog ran away.
The noun boys shows that it was not just one boy's dog, but rather that multiple boys owned the dog.
The companies' employees are working hard.
The noun companies is the plural of company, thus indicating that more than one company has employees that are working hard.
When some nouns are pluralized, they sometimes change their ending or change a vowel within the noun instead of adding an -s. Rule Two said that plural nouns receive an apostrophe at the end of the noun without an -s. So do we do the same with irregular plural nouns?
No. If you look back to Rule Two, you will see that this rule applies to only plural nouns that end in an -s. If an irregular plural noun does not end in an -s, add -'s to show possession.
The children's toys were everywhere.
Children is the plural of child.
The alumni's speeches were very sincere.
Alumni is the plural of alumnus.
The sheep's herder was gone.
Sheep is the plural of sheep.
What do we do when there are compound nouns? There could be anywhere from two to five nouns in a compound noun. Do they all get the possessive apostrophe? How do you determine where the possessive apostrophe goes?
When two (or more) individual nouns own something together, only one -'s is used. The -'s is written at the end of the last noun.
Pam and Sandy's daughters graduated from university.
(Pam and Sandy are the parents of both daughters.)
Mike and Katie's wedding was a disaster.
(The wedding was being held for both the bride and the groom.)
When two (or more) individual nouns own something separately, an -'s is written after both (or all) of the nouns.
Jim's and Jane's new shoes were oddly similar.
(Jim and Jane both had new shoes, but they each had their own pair.)
Tim's and Tina's cars had collided.
(Tim has his own car and Tina has her own, and they have collided with one another.)
Preston's, Alonzo's, Phillip's, and Sebastian's computers were all confiscated after the database was hacked this weekend.
(All of these individuals had their own computers, and they were all confiscated.)
Rule One states that singular nouns use -'s at the end of the word to show possession. Rule Two states that plural nouns ending in -s only take an apostrophe. What about singular nouns that end in -s?
When a singular noun ends in -s, you have the option of adding -'s to show possession or only adding -'. The Chicago Manual of Style currently recommends using -'s.
Charles's mittens look warm.
My boss's temper is unpredictable.
James's pen isn't working.
The use of -'s or simply -' is not strictly incorrect or correct. You simply want to make sure that things are done consistently. If a guide such as the Chicago Manual of Style makes a recommendation, it's best to follow that recommendation.
When describing sums of money or periods of time, the possessive apostrophe is often used.
They still owe me four weeks' pay.
I was promised one month's paid vacation.
I definitely got my money's worth for that hotel.
When a gerund (a verb that functions as a noun and ends in -ing) is used in a sentence, the noun before it uses the possessive -'s.
Rob's shooting wasn't on par.
Possessive apostrophes are never used to pluralize a noun. Nouns follow rules of pluralization and adding an apostrophe is not one of them.
Your mother loves you.
Not: Your mother loves' you.
Cats are cuddly.
Not: Cat's are cuddly.
Drums bang loudly.
Not: Drum's bang loudly.
Possessive pronouns are never pluralized. These pronouns are his, hers, its, theirs, ours, yours, and whose. They already show possession and adding an apostrophe would be redundant.
I want to read his book.
Not: I want to read his' book.
Is it theirs or ours?
Not: Is it their's or our's?
The company made its choice.
Not: The company made it's choice.
It's either means it is or it has. When you want to use it with possession you use its.
If you are unsure whether the noun in a sentence is a possessive or not, here is a trick that can help you determine this: insert of the in the phrase. If the sentence still makes sense and retains its original meaning, then it is possessive.
The student's grades = the grades of the student
The dog's bone = the bone of the dog
Lola's house = the house of Lola
When you insert this of the phrase and a building or an object is after the of the phrase, you don't use the possessive apostrophe.
Chalk of the board = chalk board
Full of the moon = full moon
Bus of the stop = bus stop
As you can see, these are often compound nouns. Look at Rule Four to know how to apply a possessive apostrophe correctly to these types of nouns. [
Many ESL writers also make use of possessives in ways that are grammatically correct but are awkward. For example, if the subject of a paper written by an ESL learner is by nature possessive (for example, voters' rights or churchgoers' beliefs), the phrase will often be used repeatedly throughout the paper. While not incorrect, this can be extremely repetitive. It is often the case that the phrase can be shortened to just one word or that the use of the phrase can be excised altogether. Pay special attention to repeated possessive forms of nouns and see if you can manage to reduce their usage.
Some ESL writers will avoid using possessives at all costs because their native language uses an . . . of . . . construction (for example, the books of my grandmother or the house of the dog). Again, while it's not grammatically incorrect to say something like, "I'm going to paint the house of my dog," it's extremely awkward and would give any reader or listener pause. Look for constructions like these as well.
Let's review the rules.
Add -'s to the end of a singular noun that doesn't end in -s.
Add only an apostrophe to a plural noun that ends in -s.
Add -'s to an irregular plural noun that does not end in -s.
Add -'s to the end of the last noun when two (or more) individual nouns own something together.
Add -'s to both (or all) nouns when two (or more) individual nouns own something separately.
Remember, when a singular noun ends in -s, you have the option of adding -'s to show possession or only adding -'. The Chicago Manual of Style currently recommends using -'s.
Last Updated: 09/29/2022