Apostrophes with Words Ending in “s”

While normal people wonder about apostrophes in general, believe it or not, word nerds have heated arguments over whether to use an additional s with singular possession. In this newsletter, you will get the standard, most popular decision among authorities.Rule: To show singular possession for a word ending in an s or s sound, use the apostrophe and another s.

Examples: the class’s opinion (one class), a bass’s stripes, Marx’s theories, Dickens’s novelsRule: To show plural possession of a word ending in an s or s sound, form the plural first; then immediately use the apostrophe.Examples: the classes’ opinions, the basses’ stripes, the Williamses’ car, the Soos’ house, the Marxes’ children

QuizPlace the apostrophe (and perhaps an s) where appropriate.1. The classes opinions were predictable according to their grade levels.2. The lasses clothing differed according to their sewing skills.3. The lass clothing showed her sewing skills.4. The class suggestion to go to the science museum was approved by the teacher.5. The Joneses house survived the flood.6. The Crosses dog bit the mailman.7. The Smiths boat sank.8. Alex rooster woke us up at dawn.

Answers

1. The classes’ opinions were predictable according to their grade levels.

2. The lasses’ clothing differed according to their sewing skills.3. The lass’s clothing showed her sewing skills.4. The class’s suggestion to go to the science museum was approved by the teacher.5. The Joneses’ house survived the flood.6. The Crosses’ dog bit the mailman.7. The Smiths’ boat sank.8. Alex’s rooster woke us up at dawn.

 I wonder at the use of apostrophe in genitive. E.g. the examples in my Oxford Advanced dictionary say:My friend's brotherthe waitress's apronKing James's crown/James' crownThe students' booksthe women's coats

Now, I've learnt that if there's an 's' at the end of a word you only put an apostrophe and no 's' at the end. However, here 'waitress's' has an extra 's' while 'students'' don't. Further, the it says that you can say either 'James's' or 'James'.' From this I understand that either:

a) How you do it optional as long as you are consistent.

b) 1. If the word is singular, you must have an 's' after the apostrophe. 2. If it is a name, you can choose whether or not to have an 's' after the apostrophe.3. If a word is plural, you are not to have an 's' after the apostrophe. It must be ‘s’ first then apostrophe…

Many writers consider it bad form to use apostrophe -s possessives with pieces of furniture and buildings or inanimate objects in general. Instead of "the desk's edge" (according to many authorities), we should write "the edge

of the desk" and instead of "the hotel's windows" we should write "the windows of the hotel." In fact, we would probably avoid the possessive altogether and use the noun as an attributive: "the hotel windows." This rule (if, in fact, it is one) is no longer universally endorsed. We would not say "the radio of that car" instead of "that car's radio" (or the "car radio") and we would not write "the desire of my heart" instead of "my heart's desire." Writing "the edge of the ski" would probably be an improvement over "the ski's edge," however. 

For expressions of time and measurement, the possessive is shown with an apostrophe -s: "one dollar's worth," "two dollars' worth," "a hard day's night," "two years' experience," "an evening's entertainment," and "two weeks' notice" (the title of the Hollywood movie nothwithstanding).

The correct use of plural and possessive forms may seem like a minor issue. Among educated persons, however, incorrect forms, especially misuses of apostrophes, stand out like red flags. One area executive has said he will not hire an applicant whose letter or resume includes such an error.

Plural formsThe plural form of a noun indicates simply that there are more than one of the person or thing in question. For most nouns, the plural form includes the letter "s" at the end of the word:

DogsTreesTurtles

Nouns ending in s, z, ch, sh, and xNouns with these letters at the end call for an "es" in the plural form. This added syllable makes pronunciation easier.

beachesfoxeswishes

Nouns ending in oSome nouns ending in o are pluralized with an "s," while others call

for "es."  These words must be memorized, because there is no simple rule to explain the differences.

 

echoes heroes potatoes vetoesautos memos pimentos pros

Nouns ending in yTo form the plural of nouns ending in y, drop the y and add "ies."

Family becomes familiesStory becomes storiesBaby becomes babies

Irregular plural formsThere are several other irregularities in the plural forms of English nouns. Here are examples:

Man becomes menWoman becomes womenFungus becomes fungiThief becomes thieves (note that not all words ending in "f" follow this pattern: roof/roofs)Species remains speciesMedium becomes mediaPerson becomes people

Plural forms and the apostrophe (Bedford 36/Hodges')A common error is to form the plural of a noun by adding "'s" to the singular form. Try to get out the habit of doing this. A trick for remembering that the apostrophe signifies the plural is that possessive means "having," and so the posessive form of the word "has" an apostrophe. How do you tell the difference in between plural and possessive?  Check the meaning of the sentence. Does the noun simply refer to more than one thing? Or does the sentence mention something that belongs to the noun?

Although usage has changed in recent years, some handbooks call for an apostrophe in the plural forms of numbers, letters, and words used as words:

How many 1's do we have in the line?We put x's on the incorrect answers.The no's resounded loudly throughout the chamber.

Possessive forms (Bedford 36a/Hodges' 15a)A possessive form of a noun signifies that the noun owns something:

A musician's talentA woman's ambition

Possessive forms call for a properly placed apostrophe. The placement is different for singular and plural nouns. For this reason, you must know the correct singular and possessive nouns before you can make them possessive.

Singular possessiveThe possessive form of a singular noun is an apostrophe followed by the letter "s."

Kramer's hairDaphne's patiencethe car's engine

Words ending with s, z or x generally omit the "s."

Dr. Seuss' sense of humor

Plural possessiveIn order to place the apostrophe correctly in plural nouns, you must first be certain of the plural form. If you have questions about these forms, you may want to browse the section on plural nouns above.

For plural nouns ending in "s," add only an apostrophe:

Singers' voicesThe cousins' favorite uncle

For plural nouns not ending in "s," add an apostrophe and "s."

Men's clothingChildren's books

Compound nouns (Bedford 36/Hodges' 15a3)When a sentence indicates joint ownership in a compound construction, the possessive form is attached only to the second noun:

Deanna and Brandi's vacation plansTim and Bethany's wedding invitation

Note that individual ownership is marked by a double possessive:

Courtney's and Mem's grade point averages

Tim and Bethany share the same wedding invitation, whereas Courtney and Mem each have their own grade point averages.

Tutorial1. Her family's/families guest house accommodates 20 people.

2. The singers/singer's agreed to dress in black.3. Three families/family's rented an oceanfront villa.4. Can you see my sisters/sister's car in the driveway?5. Four critics'/critics recommended the book.6. Society's/Societies' definition of gender roles has changed.7. After the triplets were born, our house was filled with baby's/babies' cries.8. Cara and Susan's/Cara's and Susan's   project impressed the professor.9. The women's/womens' former neighbor dropped by to visit.10. Not all children's/childrens' shows are violent.11. Do all of your wishes/wishes' come true?12. Can a novel really have two different heroes/heros?13. Water the trees/tree's, but not every day.14. The sound of horses' hoofs/hooves rattled the glass.

15. You must consider other's/others' feelings before embarrassing them for an easy laugh.

1. Her family's/families guest house accommodates 20 people.

Correct answer: family's

This is the singular possessive form. It describes the guest house owned by one family. Families is the plural form of family.

 

2. The singers/singer's agreed to dress in black.

Correct answer: singers

Singers serves as the plural subject of this sentence. Singer's is the singular possessive form. A correct usage is as follows:

The singer's voice has an unusual range.

3. Three families/family's rented an oceanfront villa.

Correct answer: families

Families is the plural subject of the sentence. The incorrect choice is the singular possessive form. It can modify an object that belongs to one family, as in the family's beach house mentioned in question

4. Can you see my sisters/sister's car in the driveway?

Correct answer: sister's

The correct choice is the singular possessive form. It describes the car belonging to one sister. Sisters with no apostrophe is the plural form.

5. Four critics'/critics recommended the book.

Correct answer: critics

This sentence calls for a plural subject, not a possessive form. The apostrophe in critics' suggests that this is a possessive form.  It is the incorrect choice because the sentence does not refer to anything owned by the critics.

6. Society's/Societies' definition of gender roles has changed.

Correct answer: Society's

The correct form is the singular possessive, while the incorrect form is the plural possessive. The plural form does not make sense logically, because there is only one definition.

7. After the triplets were born, our house was filled with baby's/babies' cries.

Correct answer: babies'

The mention of triplets suggests that there is more than one baby crying in the house. For this reason, the plural possessive form babies' is correct.

8. Cara and Susan's/Cara's and Susan's project impressed the professor.

Correct answer: Cara and Susan's

A compound subject that shows joint ownership of an object calls for one apostrophe after the second subject. The first part of the compound subject remains in the subjective case, with no apostrophe.  If Cara and Susan had done separate projects, it would be correct to refer to them as "Cara's and Susan's projects."

9. The women's/womens' former neighbor dropped by to visit.

Correct answer: women's

When choosing the plural possessive form of any noun, determine the plural form first. The singular noun woman becomes women. (It is a common error to use women for both singular and plural. To avoid this error, consider the singular form man and its plural, men.)

After you have formed the plural, use the rules to determine the correct placement of the apostrophe. Women does not end in "s," so its plural form calls for an apostrophe followed by "s."

10. Not all children's/childrens' shows are violent.

Correct answer: children's

Like man and woman, children takes an irregular plural form. Because its plural form does not end in the letter "s," an "s" must be added after the apostrophe. Although the plural form is irregular, the possessive form follows the standard rules.

11. Do all of your wishes/wishes' come true?

Correct answer: wishes

This is a plural form. There is no need for a possessive in this sentence, because nothing belongs to the wishes.

12. Can a novel really have two different heroes/hero’s?

Correct answer: heroes

Heroes is the plural form of the noun hero. It follows the rule that calls for the addition of "es" to nouns ending in an "o" preceded by a consonant. The Hodges' Harbrace Handbook (18d5) illustrates some exceptions to this rule.

13. Water the trees/tree's, but not every day.

Correct answer: trees

There is nothing unusual about the plural form of tree. This sentence refers to multiple trees, not to anything belonging to them.

14. The sound of horses' hoofs/hooves rattled the glass.

Correct answer: hooves

With a few exceptions, the plural form of nouns ending in "f" is "es." One exception is roof/roofs.

15. You must consider other's/others' feelings before embarrassing them for an easy laugh.

Correct answer: others'

The pronoun them which appears later in the sentence indicates that the feelings of more than one person are being discussed. The

apostrophe of the plural possessive form is added to the end of the plural form.