| Home |
 |
Common Errors Workbook |
|
Punctuation and mechanics |
|
30. Do not use an apostrophe to make a noun plural |
|
To make a noun plural, add an –s (with no apostrophe).
Identify the noun being made plural.
Example: The union representatives talked to the teachers on Friday. The teachers' complaints about the administration were recorded carefully.
Do not use an apostrophe unless the plural noun is also possessive. In the first sentence of the example, teachers is a plural but not a possessive. Therefore, it ends with –s, not with –s'. In the second sentence, teachers' is a plural and a possessive, so the apostrophe is needed.
Remember: Don't use an apostrophe to make a noun plural.
|