Apostrophe (possession)

Possession is also quite easy – if you know the rule. When we write about someone (the possessor) possessing something, then this is shown by an apostrophe. The rule is:

PUT THE APOSTROPHE AFTER THE POSSESSOR (AND ADD AN ‘S’ IF THE SOUND REQUIRES IT). So, One boy’s books the book of one boy Two boys’ books the books of more than one boy A woman’s rights the rights of an individual woman Women’s rights the rights of (all) women Dogs’ behaviour how dogs (in general) behave A dog’s behaviour how one (particular) dog behaves The USA’s voting record the history of how the USA voted {The States’s record OR {

	{the States’ record 			it depends how you pronounce it

{James’s bike OR { {James’ bike it depends how you pronounce it

PAY ATTENTION: its = of it

WARNING: plural nouns which are not possessors NEVER need apostrophes – even if they are abbreviations, like GPs, or dates, like the 1960s.