Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right

Posted by Jo | Filed under Writing Helper

This is part of the series:

This entry is part 18 of 23 in the series, Writing Helper.

When it comes to writing, this is one that really pops out when you make a mistake. You add an apostrophe when you really meant plural, or you leave it out by mistake. It’s not as tough to get right as you might think; in fact, it’s downright easy.

Apostrophes are used to show ownership, not plural. (Yes, I hear some of you arguing already. I’ll get to that.)

So, if you’re talking about more than one, add an s. If you’re talking about ownership, you’ll need an apostrophe. Let’s look at some examples.

  1. John owns four cars. (simple, right?)
  2. None of John’s cars actually runs. (Ownership, the cars belong to John.)
  3. The children’s playground is a mess. (The playground belongs to the children.)

At it’s most simple, showing possession is done by adding ’s. If a word doesn’t already end in s, make it possessive by adding ’s, whether it’s singular or plural. Here are some examples.

  1. The cheerleader’s performance was almost perfect. (One cheerleader).
  2. The book’s binding needs repair. (One book.)
  3. The men’s basketball team has had its best year ever. (Men is plural, but it doesn’t end in s.)

But what if a word ends in s but isn’t plural? How do you make it possessive? You go ahead and add the ’s anyway. You can hear this one. You say “boss-es temper,” and “Charles-es wife” below, right? Let that help you remember to add the ’s.

  1. His boss’s temper was legendary.
  2. Charles’s wife insisted he take the promotion.

If a word is already plural and ends in s, then just add the apostrophe.

  1. The cheerleaders’ performance was almost perfect. (The performance was by more than one cheerleader).
  2. The sled dogs’ feet were in need of medical care after the race.
  3. My brothers’ cars were totaled within days of each other. (More than one brother wrecked more than one car.)

Let’s review some times when you shouldn’t use the apostrophe.

  1. Don’t use the apostrophe when all you mean is plural.
  2. Don’t use the apostrophe with pronouns (theirs, yours, his, its, etc.)
  3. Don’t confuse its and it’s.

Here’s the exception I alluded to earlier. There is one case when you do use the apostrophe for plurals. Use an apostrophe to show the plural of a lower case letter.

  1. She’s learning her a, b, c’s.
  2. You didn’t dot any of your i’s in this essay.

There’s an interesting discussion here about apostrophes used to show plurals, which goes to show that even the “experts” don’t agree on many of the finer points of grammar. In my opinion, err on the side of clarity. I’d write the following, even though some might argue that I’m breaking the “rules.”

  1. You got three F’s on your report card. (F is upper case, but I think it’s easier to read with the apostrophe.)
  2. You use too many and’s in your writing. (I think this is easier to read than ands.)

You can find justification for either way of doing it. Just pick one and be consistent.

Finally, what do you do with hyphenated words?

  1. The mothers-in-law have a meeting night at church. (More than one mother-in-law, but no possession.)
  2. My mother-in-law’s car is in the garage. (One mother-in-law, showing possession.)
  3. The mothers-in-law’s meeting lasts about two hours. (Plural and possessive. While this is technically correct, I find it awkward. I’d rewrite to avoid it entirely.)

Summary

  1. Add s to show plural
  2. If a word does not already end in s, then add ’s to show possession. This applies whether the word is singular or plural.
  3. If a word ends in s already and is plural, add only the apostrophe.
  4. If a word ends in s already and is singular, add ’s to make it possessive.
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Comments (19) | January 27, 2008

19 Responses to “Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right”

  1. Out Of The 71 Tutorials… - Internet Marketing Sucks! Says:
    January 28th, 2008 at 9:08 pm

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. Just because I’m a grammar nazi. […]

  2. StanHayes Says:
    January 29th, 2008 at 9:17 pm

    Just today I wrote Pujols’s and I knew it was right, but it looked wrong. Always trips me up.

  3. Blog Writing Project: 5 Best Tutorials Says:
    January 30th, 2008 at 12:25 am

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. […]

  4. 4 tips to increase your Feed Readers (written by DailyBlogTips Writing Projects Participants) | JackBook.Com Says:
    January 30th, 2008 at 3:50 am

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. […]

  5.   Blog Writing Project — Tutorials — Wayfarer Wings Says:
    January 30th, 2008 at 3:16 pm

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. […]

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    January 30th, 2008 at 4:15 pm

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. […]

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    January 31st, 2008 at 12:56 pm

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. […]

  8. My top 5 picks from Daily Blog Tips Writing Project Says:
    January 31st, 2008 at 12:56 pm

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. […]

  9. Tutorial Project, Part 2 | Ed Tech Hacks Says:
    January 31st, 2008 at 3:49 pm

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe […]

  10. Blog Writing Project: Tutorials » My top 5 Says:
    February 1st, 2008 at 2:41 am

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. […]

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    February 2nd, 2008 at 2:57 pm

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. […]

  12. joe Says:
    March 25th, 2008 at 12:50 am

    I don’t know how much I can trust your lesson when you type something like this:

    “At it’s most simple, showing possession is done by adding ’s. If a word doesn’t already end in s, make it possessive by adding ’s, whether it’s singular or plural. Here are some examples.”

    The very first “it’s” in that paragraph is wrong.

  13. gabfire themes » Blog Archive » Blog Writing Project: Tutorials » My top 5 Says:
    April 26th, 2008 at 3:03 pm

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. […]

  14. oHszJTNXGym Says:
    May 2nd, 2008 at 7:11 am

    CFglQO doors2.txt;6;6

  15. Tammy Says:
    May 10th, 2008 at 7:43 am

    What is up with your misuse of “its” as Joe states in his 3/25/8 entry above. ?? YIKES

  16. Blog Writing Project: 71 Tutorials for Your Delight Says:
    July 26th, 2008 at 6:48 am

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. […]

  17. Blog Writing Project: 71 Tutorials for Your Delight Says:
    July 26th, 2008 at 6:48 am

    […] Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right by Corner Scribe. […]

  18. sunshine Says:
    September 24th, 2008 at 9:54 pm

    hi im sunshine,i wnt to search the plural without “is”

  19. Andrea Says:
    April 10th, 2009 at 6:55 am

    “At it’s most simple, simple possession is ..” might want to correct that!

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