Definition: Possessive nouns show ownership. Possessive comes from the same root as possession, something you own.
Singular Possessives
Add 's to singular words to show possession.
| Dog's collar | sister's backpack | car's engine |
| (dog + 's) | (sister + 's) | (car + 's) |
If a singular word ends in s, it is still necessary to add 's.
| Charles's sneakers | Bess's dresses | bus's tires |
| (Charles + 's) | (Bess + 's) | (bus + 's) |
Plural Possessives
If you have added an s to make a word plural (for example, cat ⇒ cats), adding 's will sound ridiculous (cats's). In that case, add only the apostrophe to the end of the word.
| Dogs' collars | sisters' backpacks | cars' engines |
| (dogs + ') | (sisters + ') | (cars + ') |
Just like singular possessives, plural possessives that don't end in s add 's.
| Children's homework | fish's bowls | octopi's tentacles |
| (children + 's) | (fish + 's) | (octopi + 's) |
- Hint:
- Look at the ending in front of the apostrophe to see if the word is singular or plural.
One dog|'s tail (One dog has one tail.) Two dogs|' tails (Two dogs have two tails.)
If two people own something together, use an 's after the second person only.
| Joe and Mary's car is new. | (Both Joe and Mary own the car.) |
If two people own two separate things, add 's to each name.
| Laurie's and Megan's nails are painted the same color. | (Each girl has her own nails.) |
You may find that certain names ending in s add only an apostrophe. That rule is somewhat old-fashioned. However, some names, such as Jesus, Moses, Achilles, and Charles Dickens (historical names that end in a z sound), can end with either an apostrophe or 's.
| Jesus' parables were instructional stories. | Jesus's parables were instructional stories. |
| Moses' first tablets were broken. | Moses's first tablets were broken. |
Some people prefer to use only the apostrophe, but because we usually pronounce the extra s, adding 's is correct as well.
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