January 25, 2016
Writing Tip of the Week
Correct Use of the Apostrophe—Part 1
Apostrophes determine possession—who owns what.
1)
Use “’s” to form the possessive of singular or plural nouns or indefinite pronouns not ending in
“s”:
defendant’s alibi
parents’ testimony
anybody’s guess
**Reminder: Apostrophes are not used with the (already) possessive forms of personal
pronouns: yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.
2)
Use “’s” to form the possessive of singular nouns ending in “s” as long as the resulting word is
not difficult to pronounce.
James’s contract
business’s license
witness’s testimony
Three or more “s” sounds together are difficult to pronounce. When necessary, avoid three “s”
sounds together by dropping the “s” after the apostrophe. In the examples above, the double "s"
ending in "business" or "witness" makes only one “s” sound, so when the “’s” is added, as in
“business’s” or “witness’s,” only two “s” sounds are required. However, when these same words
are followed by words that begin with the “s” sound, then the “s” after the apostrophe is dropped
for ease of pronunciation.
business’ sales
witness’ signature
3)
4)
5)
Use only an apostrophe to form the possessive of plural nouns ending in “s.”
framers’ intent
workers’ rights
Smiths’ attorney
**Tip: It is easier to form the plural possessives correctly if you form the plural first and then
apply the rules for possessives.
***Reminder: The apostrophe is never used to create the plural form of proper nouns.
Incorrect: Holiday Greetings from the Smiths’
Correct: Holiday Greetings from the Smiths
Holiday Greetings from the Smiths’ house
Use “’s” after the last word to form the possessive of a compound word or word
group:
mother-in-law’s statement
attorney general’s office
To show joint possession, use “’s” only after the last noun in a group of two or more
nouns; to show individual possession, use “’s” after each of the nouns in a group of two or more
nouns:
Jeff and Kate’s stock: stocks are jointly owned
Jeff’s and Kate’s stock: some stocks are owned by Jeff, and some are owned by Kate
Adapted from: The Legal Writing Handbook—Oates, Enquist, and Kunsch
Prepared by: Jennifer Lussier and Chris Dunn