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Apostrophes with Words Ending in “s”

While normal people wonder about apostrophes in general, believe it or not, word nerds have heated arguments over whether to use an additional s with singular possession. In this newsletter, you will get the standard, most popular decision among authorities.

Rule: To show singular possession for a word ending in an s or s sound, use the apostrophe and another s.

Examples: the class’s opinion (one class), a bass’s stripes, Marx’s theories, Dickens’s novels

Rule: To show plural possession of a word ending in an s or s sound, form the plural first; then immediately use the apostrophe.

Examples: the classes’ opinions, the basses’ stripes, the Williamses’ car, the Soos’ house, the Marxes’ children

Quiz

Place the apostrophe (and perhaps an s) where appropriate.

1. The classes opinions were predictable according to their grade levels.
2. The lasses clothing differed according to their sewing skills.
3. The lass clothing showed her sewing skills.
4. The class suggestion to go to the science museum was approved by the teacher.
5. The Joneses house survived the flood.
6. The Crosses dog bit the mailman.
7. The Smiths boat sank.
8. Alex rooster woke us up at dawn.

Answers

1. The classes’ opinions were predictable according to their grade levels.
2. The lasses’ clothing differed according to their sewing skills.
3. The lass’s clothing showed her sewing skills.
4. The class’s suggestion to go to the science museum was approved by the teacher.
5. The Joneses’ house survived the flood.
6. The Crosses’ dog bit the mailman.
7. The Smiths’ boat sank.
8. Alex’s rooster woke us up at dawn.

Posted on Friday, January 26th, 2007 at 1:26 am

Apostrophes

When asked what the most common English usage error is, I don’t have to think hard. The “winning” mistake is the misuse of the apostrophe, especially with its/it’s.

First, let’s get rid of a myth: There is no such thing as its’. Why? Because its’ would be meaningless. If its’ existed, it would be indicating plural possession. First of all, it is always singular. Secondly, its without an apostrophe is the possessive form.

Example: The dog hurt its paw.

The word it’s is a contraction for it is.

Example: It’s a shame that the dog hurt its paw.

Now, we can look at more apostrophe rules.

Rule: To show possession by one person, use an apostrophe and then the s.

Examples:
girl’s hat (one girl who owns a hat)
girl’s hats (one girl who owns more than one hat)
woman’s dress (one woman who owns a dress)
woman’s dresses (one woman with more than one dress)

Rule: To show plural possession, make the noun plural first; then use the apostrophe.

Examples:
The girls’ hats flew off in the wind. (more than one girl, each with a hat)
The women’s dresses matched their shoes. (more than one woman, each with matching shoes)

Notice that women’s was not an exception. The noun was made plural first and then the apostrophe was used. The only difference is that the plural of woman doesn’t have an s so we must add it at the end.

Examples:
one boy’s book, two boys’ books
one man’s jacket, two men’s jackets
one lass’s hat, two lasses’ hats

Posted on Wednesday, November 1st, 2006 at 9:09 pm

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