If, instead, you habitually use the possessive forms when you should write the plural forms, look at each apostrophe to see if its use is justified. % of people told us that this article helped them. There are two Smiths in the marriage (a husband and a wife, in this case), so this is a straightforward plural possessive. How should this sentence using a proper name in possessive plural be written? It is helpful to consult a dictionary if you aren't sure whether you need to convert the "-f" to a "-v". "I knew nearly all of this already, but the very last section on compound possessives told me what I needed to know. Examples: lands dresses taxes quizzes Incorrect: Twenty dog's were in the pack. - My grandparents' house Similar: Possessive nouns worksheets Punctuating dialogue worksheets. the twins' parents. So it would not be appropriate to follow them. Possessive Plurals and Plurals' Possessives. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 127,633 times. How do I write the possessive plural of a noun already ending in s? Your Goal: Help the alien find the way back to his spaceship by correctly writing the singular/plural possessive form of different nouns! "Sheep" and "moose" are the same as singular or plural nouns in English. Rule 13 _ : Hyphenated compound nouns and compound nouns written as more than one word are made plural by the addition of -s to the principal term. Many writers incorrectly use apostrophes to indicate both plural and possessive forms, while many writers for whom English is not their first language omit the apostrophe entirely because their native language does not use it. This article was co-authored by Megan Morgan, PhD. That’s it! We signify separate ownership by writing both of the compounded proper nouns in the possessive form. However, these two words are not regular. When I say "workers' comp" I'm thinking of compensation belonging to the workers. Possessive adjectives in Spanish grammar have two forms, a long one and a short one. Still others are unsure when to use "-s" and when to use "-es" to indicate the plural form of a word. The Smiths’ marriage seems to have weathered the storm of infertility. Open PDF. A possessive noun is a noun that possesses something—i.e., it has something. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Words ending in "-o" followed by a single consonant that English gets from another language typically form their plurals by adding "-s". [email protected], Sony: "The plural form is not `walkmen` or `walkmans` but Walkman personal stereos". The general rule for forming possessives The possessive of a plural noun is formed by adding only an apostrophe when the noun ends in s, and by adding both an apostrophe and s when it ends in a letter other than s. excessive lawyers' fees. f you want to use plurals and possessives in writing but you’re not sure where to begin, remember that plurals are used to indicate when there is more than one of something. Correct: Twenty dogs were in the pack. There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Plural and possessive forms of English words often confuse beginning writers. For example, "criterion" or "phenomenon" form their plurals by dropping the "-on" and adding an "-a" ("criteria", "phenomena"). Many people might think that the plural of Walkman would be Walkmen following the form for man/men and woman/women. see below 1) wife plural: wives the consonant 'k' is changed to 'v' in the plural, when 's' is added. - Tom's car - The cat's tail. Tweet; Within the realm of punctuation, apostrophes on plurals and possessives can also lead to questions. If the plural of beau is beaux, what is the plural possesive? Some plurals of words ending in "-s" double the final "s" before adding the plural suffix. Do people still talk about the Walkman device , or it just outmoded technology? Deciding When to Use Plural and Possessive Forms, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/9\/97\/Use-Plurals-and-Possessives-in-Writing-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Use-Plurals-and-Possessives-in-Writing-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/9\/97\/Use-Plurals-and-Possessives-in-Writing-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid1198622-v4-728px-Use-Plurals-and-Possessives-in-Writing-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"