The Possessive Apostrophe

This little punctuation mark can often cause confusion for writers. This is not surprising, since the rules that govern it are not always as concrete as other punctuation marks—like the full stop—and can vary between style guides.

Possession Vs. Plural

We use an apostrophe with an “s” (’s) to show that something belongs or is associated with a specific person, place or thing.

(Person) John’s phone is the latest model.

(Place) China’s phone market declined by 17% but it remains the world’s biggest.

(Thing) The new iPhone’s screen is brighter, and the camera’s pictures are clearer.

If we want to describe more than one object, person or place, there is no need to add an apostrophe to the relevant plural form.

Mobile phones can distract pupils from their studies and are often banned from classes.

Plural Possession

If we want to show plural possession, that is, something that belongs to more than one thing—like a group of people, animals or objects—then we add an apostrophe to the plural form without an extra “s”.

Cats’ tails lash when they are angry and dogs’ tails wag when they are happy.

Deciduous trees’ leaves change colour in the autumn.

The Students’ Union held a meeting away from the main campus.

Words Ending in “s”

If the word that the possession refers to already ends with an “s” there are two options, both of which are acceptable:

First, you can place the apostrophe at the end of the word without adding an extra “s”.

Jess’ phone contract has unlimited data usage, while James’ does not.

Second, and provided it is not already a plural, you can add “’s” as normal.

Jess’s phone contract has unlimited data usage, while James’s does not.

Whichever option you choose, it is important that you are consistent with it throughout your text, whether it is a short article or full length manuscript.

Using Speech as Guide

If there is no definitive rule, how do you know which option to choose? When dealing with words ending in “s”, some writers prefer to be guided by speech, that is, how the words are pronounced when spoken. Adding “’s” if it is spoken and dropping the “s” if not. Generally, one-syllable words will pronounce the extra syllable and therefore take “’s”, and words with two or more syllables will not.

Adding “’s” when the extra syllable is spoken.

Jess’s (jess–sez) phone contract has unlimited data usage, while James’s (jaim–sez) does not.

Mr Jones’s (joan–sez) cat is bigger than his boss’s (boss–sez) chihuahua.

Using an apostrophe without the “s” when an extra syllable is not spoken.

Mr Rogers’ (rodge–erz) car was blue. And NOT Mr Rogers’s (rodge–erz–sez) car was blue.

The Beatles’ (bee–tullz) best album is… And NOT The Beatles’s (bee–tullz–sez) best album is…

Although opinion is divided, being guided by speech patterns can be a useful way to remember when and where to use a possessive apostrophe.