Apostrophes

Possessive Case

Using apostrophes to show possession with singular nouns:

A. To form the possessive of singular nouns that DO NOT end with the letter S, add 's:

Jim's nose

my sister's thesis

Helen's teeth

the student's desk

The cat's food

Shakespeare's sonnets

The possession or ownership in these examples is explicit. Sometimes, however, ownership is loosely implied, as in the following examples:

a day's work

a tree's roots

the diet's benefits

winter's chill

If you're uncertain whether a noun is possessive, try rewriting the phrase as an "of" phrase:

the work of the day

the roots of a tree

the benefits of the diet

the chill of winter

B. To form the possessive of singular nouns that DO end with the letter S, just add an apostrophe.

In the following, the extra S sound is easy to pronounce, so add 's:

Queen Bess' throne

Lois' sister

my boss' office

Charles Dickens' novels

Holmes' pipe

Sophocles' plays

for goodness' sake (for the sake of goodness)

 

Using apostrophes to show possession with plural nouns:

 A. To form the possessive of plural nouns that DO NOT end with the letter S, add 's:

women's rights

men's room

children's games

B. To form the possessive of plural nouns that DO end with S, add only an apostrophe:

girls' basketball team

the lawyers' briefcases

three days' pay

in twelve months' time

the wrens' nests

the bosses' secretaries

Note: Don't be confused by the plural form of names ending in S, like Jones or James. When Mr. and Mrs. Jones and all their children walk around together, they are "the Joneses". To form the joint possessive, add an apostrophe only :

"We were invited to the Joneses' house."

C. To show joint possession, use 's(ors') with the last noun only:

Fernando and Eva's wedding

The same rule applies to compound words:

my mother-in-law's garden

the president-elect's vocabulary

the secretary-of-state's speech

her in-laws' vacation

Possessive Pronouns

"Hers", "his", "ours", "yours", "theirs", "whose", AND "its" have no apostrophe:

The cat lost its tongue.

His singing is beautiful.

One of the most common apostrophe errors occurs with "its" and "it's". Just remember that "its" is a possessive pronoun, just like "his" and "her", and like them, DOES NOT have an apostrophe. "It's", however, is a contraction for "it is" and "it has".

The cat knows its name; it's called Pasha.

Finally, keep in mind that the use of the apostrophe is not the only way or always the best way to indicate possession. Instead of "an hour's pay", for example, you may write "hourly pay". Choose the form that is the most precise or the most appropriate.