Possessive Nouns

A possessive noun is a noun indicating ownership or possession.

The possessive is shown by adding an 's to the end of a noun or just an ' after plural nouns already ending in -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 a 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.

Plural nouns that end in s form the possessive by adding an apostrophe (') after the ending s.

Plural nouns that do not end in s form the possessive by adding an apostrophe s ('s) to the end of the word.

Examples:

The horses' stalls are cleaned each morning.

The children's coats all hung in a row.

There are two accepted forms for possessive singular nouns that end with an s:

Add an apostrophe (') after the existing s at the end of the word:

• witness'

• witness's

Examples:

The witness' statement was added to the police report.

The witness's statement was added to the police report.

Note: If you are a student, use the form that is preferred by your teacher.

Because you will add an S sound to form the possessive, most style guides recommend the apostrophe S rather than the apostrophe alone, especially for common nouns.

The plural form of the noun woman is women.

The plural possessive form is women's.

Example: The women's locker room is on your right. (the locker room designated for women)

The correct plural possessive form is:

B. the men's plans (the plans of a number of men)

The correct singular possessive forms are:

A. a stone's throw (the distance of a throw of a stone)

D. the woman's plans (the plans of a woman)

The incorrect possessive form is:

C. it's place: the possessive form of the pronoun it is its (no apostrophe).

The form it's (with apostrophe) is a contraction, a shortened form of "it is".

A possessive noun is a form of the noun that shows something belongs to that noun; for example:

That is Wesley's dog.

I found Nancy's book on the floor.

The executive's notes were misplaced when the fire alarm sounded.

A possessive case noun is used to indicate ownership, possession, origin or purpose.

• Francine's sweater (a sweater owned by Francine)
• the cat's cleverness (cleverness possessed by the cat)
• Shakespeare's plays (plays originated by Shakespeare)
• the children's playground (a playground intended for children)

A possessive noun is a noun indicating ownership, possession, purpose, or origin.

A possessive noun is formed formed by adding an apostrophe -s to the end of the word, or just an apostrophe to plural nouns that already end with -s.

the car of my mother = my mother's car

the teacher of our class = our class'steacher

the coats of the children = the children'scoats

the covers of the books = the books' covers

Examples:

• The boys' coats all hung in a row. (ownership, the coats belonging to the boys)
• The girls' smiles lit up their faces. (possession, the smiles on the faces of the girls)
• The parents' efforts helped to raise the funds. (origin, the efforts provided by the parents)
• The children's playground was freshly painted. (purpose, the playground intended for children)

The possessive form of the plural noun feet is feet's.

Example: These slippers will be your feet's new best friend.

The possessive form of the plural noun coaches is coaches'.

The apostrophe at the end of the word indicates that something belongs to two or more coaches.

Example: You'll find the coaches' offices at the end of the corridor.

The correct spelling of the singular noun is audience (one audience).
The correct singular possessive form is audience's.

Example: The audience's reaction made the singer smile.

A singular possessive noun is a noun for one person or thing that indicates something in the sentence belongs to that noun.

A singular possessive noun is formed by adding an apostrophe s ('s) to the end of the noun.

Examples:

The bank's customers were unhappy with the increase in fees. (the customers of a bank)

My teacher's name is Mr. Lincoln. (the name of my teacher)

A plural possessive noun is a noun for two or more people or things that indicates something in the sentence belongs to that noun.,

A plural possessive noun is formed by adding an apostrophe (') after the s at the end of the word, or an apostrophe s ('s) to the end of an irregular plural noun.

Example: The art students' projects are due Monday. (the projects of the students)

The possessive case (and more generally speaking, the genitive case) of any singular noun in English is formed by adding an apostrophe followed by the letter "s" no matter how the modified word is spelled: Thus the possessive form of business is business's.

* Exceptions to this rule are biblical polysyllabic names ending in a sibilant, with Jesus' and Moses' either listed as the common examples or as the only permitted ones. Some contemporary sources incorrectly expand this exception to any polysyllabic notable name ending in a sibilant ("Dickens' novels").

Actually, many modern style guides allow the use of only an apostrophe after words that end in S. It isn't necessarily incorrect. It just depends on which style guide you are required to use.

There are two accepted forms for possessive singular nouns that end with an s:

Add an apostrophe (') after the existing s at the end of the word:

• class'

• class's

Examples:

My class' trip to the museum is scheduled for Friday.

My class's trip to the museum is scheduled for Friday.