Generally, a possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s to a word that does not end in s, and only an apostrophe to a word that does end in s.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Brooks | Brookses |
| child | children |
| lunch | lunches |
| sheep | sheep |
| Sussex | Sussexes |
| lady | ladies |
| man | men |
| passerby | passersby |
| Singular Possessive | Plural Possessive |
| Brooks’ | Brookses’ |
| child’s | children’s |
| lunch’s | lunches’ |
| sheep’s | sheep’s |
| Sussex’s | Sussexes’ |
| lady’s | ladies’ |
| man’s | men’s |
| passerby’s | passersby’s |
Add an apostrophe to a word that ends in an s sound.
for old times’ sake
for conscience’ sake
for appearance’ sake
Add an apostrophe and an s to a foreign name ending in a silent sibilant.
Descartes’s invention
Des Moines’s schools
faux pas’s
Add an apostrophe and an s to the last word of a singular compound noun.
the Governor of Maine’s
the attorney general’s
Use an of phrase to show possession when both a plural and a possessive are involved in a compound noun.
RIGHT: the decisions of the attorneys general
WRONG: the attorneys general’s decisions
Indicate common possession by making only the last item in a series possessive.
Teddy, Peggy, and Nancy’s home
Indicate individual possession by making each item in a series possessive.
Teddy’s, Peggy’s, and Nancy’s homes
The following possessives should be written as singular per Web. 11. (updated 11/21/14)
baker’s yeast
printer’s ink
writer’s cramp
The following possessive should be written as plural per Web. 11. (updated 11/21/14)
confectioners’ sugar
Consider that in some cases words are not possessive but rather descriptive. In those cases, no apostrophes are needed. See descriptive words for more detail. (added 12/3/14)
Possessives
Descriptive words