CORRECT USE OF APOSTROPHES
Noun Possessives:
-
All nouns not ending with an s sound, whether singular
or plural, form the possessive by adding `s.
office of the attorney
attorney’s office
toys belonging to the children
children’s toys
books belonging to Judy
Judy’s books
lounge for women
women’s lounge
tax
rate of Illinois
Illinois’s tax rate (doesn’t end with an s sound)
-
Nouns ending with and s sound form the possessive by
simply adding an apostrophe unless an additional syllable is pronounced in
the possessive form. In the
latter case, `s is
added.
No extra pronounced syllable:
the efforts of two cities
two cities’ efforts
the home belonging to the Foxes
the Foxes` home
the pen belonging to Mr. Simons
Mr. Simon’s pen
Extra pronounced syllable:
grades of the class
the class’s grades
the purse belonging to Ms.
Harris Ms.
Harris’s purse
-
In the case of joint ownership, possession is shown only on
the last noun. Where individual
ownership exists, possession is shown on each noun.
Joint ownership:
Mary and Alice’s apartment has
been newly painted.
The Rodriguezes and the Martinsons’
mountain cabin closed escrow today.
Individual ownership:
My mother’s and father’s
clothes were destroyed in the fire.
Bob’s and John’s payroll checks
were lost.
-
The possessive form of compound nouns is shown at the end.
investments of my father-in-law
father-in-law’s investments
the report for
stockholders
stockholders’ report
-
Use the possessive form before a gerund.
We would appreciate Lisa’s
helping us with the audit.
There is no record of the
witness’s being subpoenaed.
-
Use an apostrophe with the possessives of nouns that refer to
time—minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years.
Singular Possessive:
Peace for a
minute
a minute’s peace
Work for the day
a day’s work
Delay for a week
a week’s delay
Plural Possessive:
work for four
hours
four hours` work
interest for two
weeks
two weeks' interest
experience for five
years five years’ experience
-
Do not form possessives for inanimate objects, except time.
Instead, use a simple adjective or an of phrase.
The table top is scratched.
(Not: The table’s top is scratched.)
The typewriter keys need to be
cleaned. (Not: The typewriter’s
keys need to be cleaned).
Pronoun Possessives:
-
The possessive case pronouns are the following:
My, mine, his, her, hers, your,
yours, our, ours, their, theirs, its and whose.
ALL NOUN POSSESSIVE CASE FORMS ARE
WRITTEN WITHOUT APOSTROPHES. They
should not be contractions.
Possessive pronouns – no apostrophes.
Its wrapping had been torn.
Is this sweater yours?
The idea was theirs.
Contractions—apostrophes.
It’s still raining very heavily
here on the West Coast.
Let us know if you’re going to
the convention.
-
Use the possessive case immediately before a gerund.
His leaving the company was quite a
surprise.
We would appreciate your returning
the enclosed card by Friday, March 18.
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