Apostrophe (possession)

The use of the punctuation mark the apostrophe (') to show possession is quite easy – if you know the rule. Unfortunately, too many writers have not learnt the rule. Many students are intimidated by what seems complicated - but can be mastered by most intelligent adults within minutesa. It may take concentration. (For the use of the apostrophe to show that you have left a letter out of a word, click here.)

When we write about someone (the possessor) possessing (or owning) 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" is the rights of an individual woman; "Women’s rights" is the rights of (all) women.

"Dogs’ behaviour" is how dogs (in general) behave; but "A dog’s behaviour is how one (particular) dog behaves".

The USA’s voting record is the history of how the USA voted, that is "The States’s record" OR "the States’ record": it depends on how you pronounce it. Similarly, "James’s bike" is correct fot those who pronounce 'James' with two syllables when he owns something ('jamez-iz'); and "James’ bike" is correct fot those who pronounce it with one syllable: 'jamez'.

One particular problem is the omission of 'i' from "It is": its = of it .

See also Apostrophe - punctuation - omission.

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

You may need to see Apostrophe - punctuation - omission to explain another problem with apostrophes.