Rule 1c. Some writers and editors add only an apostrophe to all nouns ending in s. And some add an apostrophe + s to every proper noun, be it Hastings’s or Jones’s.
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One method, common in newspapers and magazines, is to add an apostrophe + s (’s) to common nouns ending in s, but only a stand-alone apostrophe to proper nouns ending in s.
Examples:
the class’s hours
Mr. Jones’ golf clubs
the canvas’s size
Texas’ weather
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Note: We sometimes hear that an inanimate object cannot possess, e.g., the canvas’s size should be written the size of the canvas. However, this idea is routinely ignored by good writers (the rocket’s red glare).
Care must be taken to place the apostrophe outside the word in question. For instance, if talking about a pen belonging to Mr. Hastings, many people would wrongly write Mr. Hasting’s pen (his name is not Mr. Hasting).
Correct:Mr. Hastings’ pen
A widely used technique favored for its simplicity is to write the word as we would speak it. For example, since most people saying 'Mr. Hastings’ pen' would not pronounce an added s, we would write Mr. Hastings’ pen with no added s. But most people would pronounce an added s in 'Jones’s,' so we’d write it as we say it: Mr. Jones’s golf clubs. This method explains the punctuation of for goodness’ sake.
When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add an apostrophe + s ('s) to a singular noun and an apostrophe (') to a plural noun, for example:
- the boy's ball (one boy)
- the boys' ball (two or more boys)
Notice that the number of balls does not matter. The structure is influenced by the possessor and not the possessed.
| one ball | more than one ball | |
|---|---|---|
| one boy | the boy's ball | the boy's balls |
| more than one boy | the boys' ball | the boys' balls |
The structure can be used for a whole phrase:
- the man next door's mother (the mother of the man next door)
- the Queen of England's poodles (the poodles of the Queen of England)
- the boyfriend of my sister
- my sister's boyfriend
Proper Nouns (Names)
We very often use possessive 's with names:
- This is Mary's car.
- Where is Ram's telephone?
- Who took Anthony's pen?
- I like Tara's hair.
When a name ends in s, we usually treat it like any other singular noun, and add 's:
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- This is Charles's chair.
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But it is possible (especially with older, classical names) to just add the apostrophe ':
- Who was Jesus' father?
Irregular Plurals
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Some nouns have irregular plural forms without s (man → men). To show possession, we usually add 's to the plural form of these nouns:
| singular noun | plural noun |
|---|---|
| my child's dog | my children's dog |
| the man's work | the men's work |
| the mouse's cage | the mice's cage |
| a person's clothes | people's clothes |