Is It Plural or Possessed? When to Use Apostrophe -S
It’s one of those grammar glitches that makes English teachers twitch, and it’s a perplexing punctuation problem.
Knowing when to use an apostrophe and when to use apostrophe -s can be tricky, but this grammar quickie provides all you need to know about plural versus possession when it comes to apostrophe -s.
Pluralization
You can have one or you can have many. Do you have a dog or do you have dogs? Generally speaking when you’re using an “s” to indicate more than one, you simply add an “s” to the word. That’s it, you’re done.
Possession
Is it plural or is it owned? If you’re showing ownership, then you need to use apostrophe -s. You have a dog. Your dog has a collar. That is the dog’s collar. If something (collar) belongs to something else (dog), the thing that belongs is given the apostrophe -s to show possession.
Multiplicity
But what if you have more than one dog and they each have their own collar? You have dogs. They have collars. Those are the dogs’ collars. When you’re dealing with more than one owner, the plural “s” is added and the apostrophe follows.
Apostrophe -S and the Word “It”
One of the most common spelling mistake happens with the word “it,” especially when people try to indicate possession. Should you add the apostrophe -s or not? When does it take apostrophe -s and when does it just take an s?
The Exception to the Rule
One word in the English language stands out as an exception to the rule when it comes to plural versus possession. The word “it” is treated a bit differently. In fact, there is no plural possession at all because “it” is inherently singular. That’s a relief. But what about when “it” owns something?
When you are showing possession with the word “it,” you simply reverse the rules and lose the apostrophe. The car has wheels. Its wheels are round. See? No apostrophe when something belongs to “it.”
What About “It’s?”
“It’s” is neither possessive nor plural. When the apostrophe -s is added to “it,” what you’re seeing is a contraction, or a shortening of two words. In short, the phrase “it is” is being shortened. If you have a hard time remembering this, try saying your sentence or phrase by replacing “its” or “it’s” with “it is.” If “it is” works, then you have a contraction and the apostrophe is required. If not, then just an “s” will do.
Remembering the Punctuation Rules for Apostrophe -S
Remembering the rules is easy. All you have to do is remember that if there’s ownership or possession, then the word should take apostrophe -s. If there are many or the word is plural, then just an s will do. And for the word “it,” the rules are reversed.
Grammar and Exceptions
Like most grammar rules, there are exceptions to the rules that dictate how we use apostrophes, and they are many. For example, when there is more than one goose, you don’t say “gooses,” you say “geese.”
The English language is fraught with such exceptions, and plural forms of many words require more than adding an “s” to the end. Learning all the exceptions takes patience and time, and requires that you constantly pay attention to words with special rules. Always keep an eye out for them.
Do you have any tips to add for remembering the punctuation marks and grammar rules for plurals and possessions? Leave them in the comments!
Melissa Donovan is a website designer and copywriter. She writes fiction and poetry and is the founder and editor of Writing Forward, a blog packed with creative writing tips and ideas.
Nice wee article. The one thing I would have added is what to do when the noun ends in an s, or a double-s, like ‘princess’. This is covered quite nicely in the Wikipedia article under the subheading: Singular nouns ending in s, z, or x.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe
I was taught in high school that in the case of a word ending in s pluralization is shown by an apostrophe following the s.
Such as “It was Chris’ shoe.”
Imagine my surprise when upon entering college after a long hiatus, my professor instructed me to use an apostrophe s.
Such as “It was Chris’s shoe.”
It still seems weird to me. What do you think?
When something ends with an “s” and it’s a belonging, you should put s’.
Your example for: Chris’ shoe is correct.
It cannot be “Chris’s shoe” because then that would be “Chris is shoe”.
Hope that helped
Hi R.S. I appreciate your input, but it’s not quite accurate. The Chicago Manual of Style specifically provides the following examples for possessives: Kansas’s legislature, Burns’s poems, Strauss’s Vienna, Dickens’s novels, etc. There are exceptions, notably for names “of two or more syllables that end in an eez sound.” Examples include the following: Euripides’ tragedies, the Ganges’ source, Xerxes’ armies. Interestingly, this style guide also notes that both of the following are correct: for Jesus’ sake (and) Jesus’s contemporaries.
You’ll notice that the rule is derived from pronunciation. If you add and pronounce “-ess” at the end of a possessive word (to indicate possession), then it takes the apostrophe-s, even if already ends with an s.
Writing “Chris’s shoe” is therefore correct. However, there may be other style guides that use different standards. Again, this is more of a style issue than a hard and fast grammar rule, but I think we should strive to write in a manner that reflects pronunciation (whenever possible), which is why I support the rules set forth by both Chicago and Strunk & White.
Thank you for sharing this. I’ve been seeing that some English newspapers in Indonesia are now using this “Chris’s shoe” example. I am a little bit confused as I was taught to omit the letter “s” after the apostrophe. So, this is a style issue, but how about the grammar rule? Is it now following the pronunciation? Thanks for sharing…
Sometimes, there isn’t a grammar rule and we have to make stylistic choices. I think it’s essential for serious writers to possess a style guide and use it adamantly. Also, whenever you’re writing for a publication, you should check to see which style guidelines they use. Good luck to you
Ah yes, the double-s ending. That would require adding an -es to the end of course. A good thing to keep in mind, and I will for when this article is updated.
When a name ends in “s,” you would normally show possession by adding the apostrophe-s ending. The exception is for classical and biblical names such as Jesus and Moses, which would appear as Jesus’ and Moses’.
As for what I think… I think Chris’s shoe looks and sounds better than Chris’ shoe. You’re going to pronounce that possessive “s” so you might as well write it out.
Jim and Brent, thanks for visiting!
Thanks for the article!
One of my pet peeves is when people do these thing incorrectly…such dolts.
Keep up the good work!
I just found your site via BlogRush. Excellent. Thank you.
This actually clears up a bit, I’m bookmarking the site now
Thanks! I hope you continue to find it helpful.
What do you use for a retail dept sign?
Mens or Men’s
Juniors or Junior’s
If the sign says Men’s Dept. then I understand the use of the apostrophe, but when just the word MENS is used there is a debate.
Yep, you’re right. It should be Men’s Department because it’s possessive (the department belongs to the men). However, the Juniors Department could go either way. Here’s why: The word “Juniors” could be functioning as a modifier (adjective) describing what type of department it is — it’s a Juniors Department. It’s plural because it’s for all juniors (not just one). On the other hand, you could say it’s like the Men’s Department and belongs to the juniors. Now, if it belongs to all the juniors, it should be Juniors’ Department. If it belongs to just one junior, it should be Junior’s Department. Tough call. I think the best way would be Juniors’ Department. In a department store, Juniors’ Department and Men’s Department would be consistent.
what is the word that has a different kind of plural form,if u make it plural the number of its letter became doubled??
pls help me
Sorry Ian, I have no idea what you mean. Got an example?
A different kind of plural form that doubles the number of letters when pluralized? The word could be ‘I’ and the plural is ‘we’
Clever!
How about abbreviations?, if I have these two words “Quality Specialists”, is correct to use ‘s to shorten them, i.e., QA’s?
Eva, this is a style issue. Some would use QA’s, others would use QAs, and I’m sure a few would insist that the best way is to simply spell it out. The problem with your particular example is that QA is not the acronym for Quality Specialist. It should be QS. My suggestion is pick up a style guide or find out which one your company/boss/publication uses and look this up.
How about something more common, like CDs or CD’s? Any standard there? It took me a moment to remember what that abbreviation means (!), but I don’t know of too many people who write out “compact discs” anymore.
This is a style issue, not a grammar issue. However, I would leave the apostrophe out: CDs. I think it looks cleaner and it sticks to the rule that apostrophe-s is used for possession:
I just bought two new CDs. (plural)
That CD’s sticker is peeling off. (possessive)
Since my name is Lois, if I have a friend also named Lois and we own a house together, is it the Loises’ house?
If Lois and Lois are characters in a story, I (strongly) suggest changing one of their names to avoid this confusion (and so the readers don’t get too mixed up).
In terms of grammar, you could do the following:
That is Lois and Lois’s house.
That is Lois’s and Lois’s house.
That house belongs to Lois and Lois.
These examples sound odd indeed, but we are constructing them just as we would if the people had two different names. I would actually recommend including the last names in those constructions, so they become the following:
That is Lois Austen and Lois Shephard’s house.
That is Lois Austen’s and Lois Shephard’s house.
As you can see, you would apply the conventional grammar rules, but in the end, readability and clarity might trump the rules. Ultimately, you should construct the sentence in the manner you feel is most appropriate (and understandable) for your readers. This might mean completely rewording it:
Both of the women who live in that house are named Lois. <— best one
Having said all that, if I were writing it, I would go with your original idea: That is the Loises' house. But this may only work if the two women are regularly referred to as "the Loises." That means it all depends on overall context.
Great question, and very tricky!
I’m having a book embosser made for a married couple for Christmas. Let’s say their last name is Walker. Should the embosser read “from the library of the Walkers” or “from the library of the Walker’s”? It’s for two people, last name Walker (no s).
Thanks!
It should be as follows:
From the library of the Walkers
Note that “From” is capitalized. It could also be:
From the Walkers’ library