Possessive Case of Nouns

Problems with possessives

What causes problems with possessive nouns is uncertainty: Do I add an - 's or just an apostrophe? Follow this rule: for singular nouns, add 's, even if the noun ends in an - s or - z sound: dog's, house's, Wes's, Keats's. But make an exception when an added - s would lead to three closely bunched s or z sounds (Jesus', Ulysses') or in names of more than one syllable with an unaccented ending pronounced - eez (Empedocles', Socrates', Euripides'). Greek names often fall into this category.

For most plural possessive nouns, add an apostrophe alone: several months' bills, many Rumanian's apartments, the encyclopedias' differences, the Rolling Stones' travel plans. If a plural noun doesn't end in - s, add - 's, just as you would with a singular noun: women's issues, mice's tails.

Switching to an of construction

When a possessive noun sounds awkward, use an of construction instead. This is a safe and often preferable way to indicate the relationship: the top of the page instead of the page's top; the lawn of the building on the corner instead of the building on the corner's lawn, the main characters of Pride and Prejudice instead of Pride and Prejudice's main characters; the novels of Dickens instead of Dickens's novels.

Joint ownership

One last word about possessive nouns: When you are indicating joint ownership, give the possessive form to the final name only, such as Abbott and Costello's movies, Tom and Dawn's dinner party, Smith, Wilson, and Nelson's partnership.