What is a possessive-apostrophe?

Answer 1

A possessive apostrophe is an apostrophe used at the end of a noun, forming a possessive noun.

A possessive noun is a noun indicating ownership or possession.

Possessives are formed by adding an apostrophe -s to the end of the word, or just an apostrophe to plural nouns that already end with -s. Examples:

• the car of my mother = my mother's car
• the teacher of our class = our class's teacher
• the coats of the children = the children's coats
• the covers of the books = the books' covers
• the meeting of the bosses = the bosses' meeting

The possessive is also used as shorthand for something that does not literally belong to that person or thing, it's used in place of 'of' or 'for'. Examples:

• The ladies' room does not belong to ladies, it means that it is designated for the use of ladies.
• A store that sells men's suits doesn't sell suits that belong to some men, it sells suits for men.
• A book of Shakespeare's plays are not plays that belong to Mr. Shakespeare, they are plays written by him.