{"id":27,"date":"2017-06-19T22:54:19","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T22:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-writing100\/chapter\/possessives\/"},"modified":"2025-05-28T17:19:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T17:19:03","slug":"possessives","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-writing100\/chapter\/possessives\/","title":{"raw":"Possessives","rendered":"Possessives"},"content":{"raw":"With possessives, the apostrophe is used in combination with an s<\/em><\/strong> to indicate\u00a0that a word literally or conceptually possesses what follows it. Singular words, whether or not they end in s<\/em><\/strong>, are made possessive by adding an apostrophe + s<\/em><\/strong>. For plural words, we typically indicate possession simply by adding the apostrophe without an additional s<\/em><\/strong>. However, for a plural that does not end in an s<\/em><\/strong> (e.g., bacteria<\/em>), we would add an apostrophe + s<\/em><\/strong>.\r\n
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Examples<\/h3>\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • a student\u2019s paper<\/li>\r\n \t
  • one hour\u2019s passing<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Illinois\u2019s law or Illinois' law<\/li>\r\n \t
  • interviewees\u2019 answers<\/li>\r\n \t
  • her professors\u2019 office (an office shared by two of her professors; if it were just one professor, we would write her professor\u2019s office<\/em>)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nWriters sometimes mistakenly add apostrophes to make words plural, but this is not how the apostrophe is used; the apostrophe is used to show possession or ownership.\r\n\r\nHere\u2019s a test you can use to determine whether an apostrophe is needed\u2014we call it the \u201cof\u201d test. Try rewording the sentence and substituting the apostrophe with the word of<\/em>.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Using an Apostrophe<\/strong><\/td>\r\nUsing \u201cof\u201d test<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    my friend\u2019s DVD<\/td>\r\nthe DVD of my friend<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Beth\u2019s zombie plan<\/td>\r\nthe zombie plan of Beth<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    James\u2019s canned goods<\/td>\r\nthe canned goods of James<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nIf you just mean to make a word plural, you should not add an apostrophe. Here is an example of incorrect usage:\r\n
    The student\u2019s planned to buy their books but played Xbox instead.<\/div>\r\nHere, you would not use an apostrophe because there is no ownership being established. You can double-check this example and see that this use of the apostrophe would not pass the \u201cof\u201d test.\r\n\r\nThe planned of the students<\/strong> just does not make sense.\r\n\r\nThe sentence above would not pass the test and should read as follows:\r\n
    The students planned to buy their books but played Xbox instead.<\/div>\r\n

    Plural Possessives<\/h2>\r\nMaking plural words possessive can be confusing at times because we so often add an s<\/strong><\/em> to a noun to make it plural. All of those s\u2019s<\/em><\/strong> can be a little overwhelming, but the rules are pretty simple:\r\n\r\nTo make plural nouns that do not end in s<\/em><\/strong> possessive, add \u2019s<\/strong>.\r\n
    the children\u2019s scary books\r\nthe mice\u2019s tiny tails<\/div>\r\nTo make plural nouns that end in s<\/em><\/strong> possessive, add just the apostrophe.\r\n
    my cats\u2019 treasures\r\nour zombie fortresses\u2019 weaknesses<\/div>\r\nNow try applying these apostrophe rules yourself.\r\n
    \r\n

    practice<\/h3>\r\n