Plurals and Possessives

Nouns change form to indicate possession. The changed form is called the possessive form. They also change form to indicate more than one of what they name. That changed form is the plural form. Many writers have difficulty with plural and possessive forms of nouns.

Plural nouns refer to two or more people, places, things, or ideas:

two students
four corners
numerous advantages
countless suggestions

To form the possessive of a singular noun, just add an apostrophe and an s:

a student’s schedule
the boss’s orders
Dr. Stein’s office hours
Donna Williams’s report
Mexico’s population

Notice that for singular nouns it does not matter whether the noun ends with an s or not, and it does not matter whether the noun is common or proper. One rule works for all: add an apostrophe and an s.

To form the possessive of a plural noun that does not end in s, add an apostrophe and an s:

the men’s restroom
the children’s department
women’s rights

To form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in s, add only an apostrophe:

most students’ grades
several buyers’ complaints
the voters’ choice

Remember that possessive pronouns are never spelled with apostrophes because they are already in their possessive forms. They include:

yours
his
hers
its
theirs

Which possessive is correctly formed? a class’s reading list a class’ reading list