Want to learn more about the plural possessive noun and its role in grammar?
Sometimes if I’m in doubt, I just drop the apostrophe and hope no one notices.
When writing the singular possessive form, if you were writing about the relationship of one child to their toy, you would be writing aboutThe word children is known as an irregular plural form, because it is derived from the word child. The difference here is that children is a collective noun, meaning it signifies a plural but acts as a singular noun would in the sentence. When I was in elementary school, my friends would pass me notes and I would correct them in red pen and pass them back. However, this was not universally accepted until the mid-19th century.
Possessive nouns show ownership. Cheers HVery good for me to have these updates…I wish I was making some money because I would love to pay you to correct my mistakes. As you've probably learned in school, a noun is a person, place, thing or idea. Both "men" and "children" are plural, but they take an apostrophe-S as if they were singular.History of the governors-general - Governors-general's historyAttention belonging to the passers-by - Passers-by's attentionRoles of the editors-in-chief - Editors-in-chief's rolesIf two or more nouns are joined together, acting together, then you should add an apostrophe and an "s" to only the last noun.Relationship of George, Jerry and Elaine - George, Jerry and Elaine's relationshipHouse belonging to Mom and Dad - Mom and Dad's houseIf you have two or more nouns together, but they have different ownership, each will need an apostrophe and "s" added.Jan and Tony own two separate cars - Jan's and Tony's carsGeorge and Harriet receive separate grades - George's and Harriet's gradesMatilda, Yvette, and Marianne have different ambitions - Matilda's, Yvette's, and Marianne's ambitionsAll the nouns in these groups consistently follow the plural possessive rules described above.The two key points to a plural possessive noun are that it represents more than one of itself and it shows ownership. Dictionary ... possessive as if they were singular; that is, by adding an apostrophe-S. "There was a line to the men's room at the children's choral concert." Going back to the cats' beds, we start with the singular noun Words with irregular plurals that don't end in "s" are made possessive as if they were singular; that is, by adding an apostrophe-S. "There was a line to the men's room at the children's choral concert." the children’s scary books Unfortunately, I still have incredible amounts of difficulty correcting myself and changing the pattern now years later, because it sounds so right to my ear. It is an irregular plural because it is not formed by simply adding an "s" to the end of its singular form ( childs is not the plural of child , whereas kids is the plural of kid ). Thanks for the update.Yay! I just do not know the rules and yet still was able to get by.I practiced until I mastered the improper use of me and I at the end of a sentence in order to rebel against my mother as a teenager.
I’m enjoying the requests. Or why it’s heinous to end a sentence with a proposition? If you need more help with the concept, we have Nouns are either singular or plural, depending on whether there is one or many of the thing in question. It does help the reader better understand our words.This is so funny…I nervously typing and hoping that I don’t any grammar mistakes…as if:~)informal in their writing style because they are writing the way they speakIf the plural form of the word already has the letter “B” for Barbara, Blogging and B just to “Be” — LOL.I’m thinking of words such as youre and theyre, for example.Excellent examples Davina! I’m glad I’m not the only one :-)Hi Davina .. oddly I had a query re exactly this .. but I’ve forgotten where it was & hit the ‘go’ button … if I remember I’ll be back to ask … ?! The plural use was greatly reduced, but a need was felt to mark possessive plural.
*blush*Thanks for sharing that link to your post. (Also, what do you say about a post exploring dangling participles or parts of speech? And not only that, in some cases it can misconstrue the meaning of the sentence.It’s easy, and it all depends on whether or not you need to add the letter Take the word child, for example. That makes three so far (one on Twitter). Then again, it could just be me. All of those s’s can be a little overwhelming.
I’ll show her your article… makes perfect sense!Y’know, just the other night I was having a conversation with my boyfriend about grammar and how, because of online jargon and text messaging, bad grammar is not only socially acceptable but is taken as proper use of vernacular. Or maybe was never taught those.I am thankful when I write on my iPhone it automatically corrects the it’s and its, those do trip me up a bit unless I consciously think of the context.Hi Davina, I learned this rule in high school (45 years ago), and was fine, until a few years back I read that the rules were changing and the “s” was being added back to the plural possessive. :lol:Hi Davina .. where’s the favicon – Barbara made for you?For example, in the case of Writers’ Blogk, you are referring to a writing space for a group of writers. Sometimes rebellion comes back to bite one later on – consequence.Thank you Davina…a great post and a remarkable read.It’s funny because my wife and I just had this discussion the other day. It kinda makes me want to cry when I see things like “babie’s” or “babies’s.” Then I’m glad it’s only online, because I’d be shaking these people by the lapels and screaming. For speed and convenience’s sake, I suppose proper grammar will never win out over easy and effortless (entropy works with brain power, too). If the plural form of the word already has the letter s at the end — such as babies — form the plural possessive by inserting the apostrophe after the s. I’m receiving requests for specific topics and am loving that.Thanks for the topic suggestion. Even spelling and pronunciation is considered correct if it’s the commonly (mis)used one.
Sometimes if I’m in doubt, I just drop the apostrophe and hope no one notices.
When writing the singular possessive form, if you were writing about the relationship of one child to their toy, you would be writing aboutThe word children is known as an irregular plural form, because it is derived from the word child. The difference here is that children is a collective noun, meaning it signifies a plural but acts as a singular noun would in the sentence. When I was in elementary school, my friends would pass me notes and I would correct them in red pen and pass them back. However, this was not universally accepted until the mid-19th century.
Possessive nouns show ownership. Cheers HVery good for me to have these updates…I wish I was making some money because I would love to pay you to correct my mistakes. As you've probably learned in school, a noun is a person, place, thing or idea. Both "men" and "children" are plural, but they take an apostrophe-S as if they were singular.History of the governors-general - Governors-general's historyAttention belonging to the passers-by - Passers-by's attentionRoles of the editors-in-chief - Editors-in-chief's rolesIf two or more nouns are joined together, acting together, then you should add an apostrophe and an "s" to only the last noun.Relationship of George, Jerry and Elaine - George, Jerry and Elaine's relationshipHouse belonging to Mom and Dad - Mom and Dad's houseIf you have two or more nouns together, but they have different ownership, each will need an apostrophe and "s" added.Jan and Tony own two separate cars - Jan's and Tony's carsGeorge and Harriet receive separate grades - George's and Harriet's gradesMatilda, Yvette, and Marianne have different ambitions - Matilda's, Yvette's, and Marianne's ambitionsAll the nouns in these groups consistently follow the plural possessive rules described above.The two key points to a plural possessive noun are that it represents more than one of itself and it shows ownership. Dictionary ... possessive as if they were singular; that is, by adding an apostrophe-S. "There was a line to the men's room at the children's choral concert." Going back to the cats' beds, we start with the singular noun Words with irregular plurals that don't end in "s" are made possessive as if they were singular; that is, by adding an apostrophe-S. "There was a line to the men's room at the children's choral concert." the children’s scary books Unfortunately, I still have incredible amounts of difficulty correcting myself and changing the pattern now years later, because it sounds so right to my ear. It is an irregular plural because it is not formed by simply adding an "s" to the end of its singular form ( childs is not the plural of child , whereas kids is the plural of kid ). Thanks for the update.Yay! I just do not know the rules and yet still was able to get by.I practiced until I mastered the improper use of me and I at the end of a sentence in order to rebel against my mother as a teenager.
I’m enjoying the requests. Or why it’s heinous to end a sentence with a proposition? If you need more help with the concept, we have Nouns are either singular or plural, depending on whether there is one or many of the thing in question. It does help the reader better understand our words.This is so funny…I nervously typing and hoping that I don’t any grammar mistakes…as if:~)informal in their writing style because they are writing the way they speakIf the plural form of the word already has the letter “B” for Barbara, Blogging and B just to “Be” — LOL.I’m thinking of words such as youre and theyre, for example.Excellent examples Davina! I’m glad I’m not the only one :-)Hi Davina .. oddly I had a query re exactly this .. but I’ve forgotten where it was & hit the ‘go’ button … if I remember I’ll be back to ask … ?! The plural use was greatly reduced, but a need was felt to mark possessive plural.
*blush*Thanks for sharing that link to your post. (Also, what do you say about a post exploring dangling participles or parts of speech? And not only that, in some cases it can misconstrue the meaning of the sentence.It’s easy, and it all depends on whether or not you need to add the letter Take the word child, for example. That makes three so far (one on Twitter). Then again, it could just be me. All of those s’s can be a little overwhelming.
I’ll show her your article… makes perfect sense!Y’know, just the other night I was having a conversation with my boyfriend about grammar and how, because of online jargon and text messaging, bad grammar is not only socially acceptable but is taken as proper use of vernacular. Or maybe was never taught those.I am thankful when I write on my iPhone it automatically corrects the it’s and its, those do trip me up a bit unless I consciously think of the context.Hi Davina, I learned this rule in high school (45 years ago), and was fine, until a few years back I read that the rules were changing and the “s” was being added back to the plural possessive. :lol:Hi Davina .. where’s the favicon – Barbara made for you?For example, in the case of Writers’ Blogk, you are referring to a writing space for a group of writers. Sometimes rebellion comes back to bite one later on – consequence.Thank you Davina…a great post and a remarkable read.It’s funny because my wife and I just had this discussion the other day. It kinda makes me want to cry when I see things like “babie’s” or “babies’s.” Then I’m glad it’s only online, because I’d be shaking these people by the lapels and screaming. For speed and convenience’s sake, I suppose proper grammar will never win out over easy and effortless (entropy works with brain power, too). If the plural form of the word already has the letter s at the end — such as babies — form the plural possessive by inserting the apostrophe after the s. I’m receiving requests for specific topics and am loving that.Thanks for the topic suggestion. Even spelling and pronunciation is considered correct if it’s the commonly (mis)used one.