pluralpossessive

Plural possessive is the grammatical form used to indicate ownership or association by more than one person or thing. In English, the possessive is typically shown with an apostrophe and, in most cases, an s, depending on the plural form of the noun being possessed.

Rules and examples:

- Plural nouns ending in s: add only an apostrophe after the final s. Example: the dogs' bones, the houses' roofs.

- Plural nouns not ending in s (irregular plurals): add 's. Examples: the children's toys, the men's coats, the women's rights, the geese's migration.

- Singular nouns: usually add 's, even after s-ending nouns in many style guides. Examples: the boss's hat (or boss' hat in some styles), the princess's gown.

- Irregular verbs and compound nouns: general rule for possessives of compound terms is to attach the possessive to the final element. Examples: the editor-in-chief's decision, the mother-in-law's car.

Joint versus separate ownership:

- For one item owned jointly by two or more people, the possessive is usually placed on the final name: John and Mary's house.

- If each person has a separate item, you typically show each possessive separately: John's and Mary's houses.

- When two or more groups share ownership, you may see the possessive placed after each group: the boys' and girls' room (each group owning its own space), though style guides may vary on punctuation.

Common issues:

- Ambiguity can arise with shared ownership; rephrase if clarity is needed.

- Some style guides differ on whether singular names ending in s take 's or just an apostrophe (classical names, biblical names, etc.).

Related topics include the apostrophe, possessive case, and style guide conventions.