February 6, 2012
Writing Tip of the Week
Correct Use of the Apostrophe—Part 1

Apostrophes determine possession—who owns what.

1. Use “’s” to form the possessive of singular or plural nouns or indefinite pronouns not ending in “s”:
   defendant’s alibi                         parents’ testimony                             anybody’s guess
   **Reminder:  Apostrophes are not used with the (already) possessive forms of personal                 pronouns: yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.
   
   
2. Use “’s” to form the possessive of singular nouns ending in “s” as long as the resulting word is                         not difficult to pronounce. 
   James’s contract                                business’s license                witness’s testimony

   Three or more “s” sounds together are difficult to pronounce.  When necessary, avoid three “s” sounds together by dropping the “s” after the apostrophe.  In the examples above, the double "s" ending in "business" or "witness" makes only one “s” sound, so when the “’s” is added, as in “business’s” or “witness’s,” only two “s” sounds are required.  However, when these same words are followed by words that begin with the “s” sound,     then the “s” after the apostrophe is dropped for ease of pronunciation.
                                          business’ sales                     witness’ signature
   
   

3. Use only an apostrophe to form the possessive of plural nouns ending in “s.”
   framers’ intent                    workers’ rights                   Smiths’ attorney

   **Tip:  It is easier to form the plural possessives correctly if you form the plural first and then apply the rules for possessives.
   ***Reminder:  The apostrophe is never used to create the plural form of proper nouns.
                             Incorrect: Holiday Greetings from the Smiths’
                            Correct:   Holiday Greetings from the Smiths
                                             Holiday Greetings from the Smiths’ house

4. Use “’s” after the last word to form the possessive of a compound word or word group:
                        mother-in-law’s statement                       attorney general’s office

5. To show joint possession, use “’s” only after the last noun in a group of two or more nouns; to show individual possession, use “’s” after each of the nouns in a group of two or more nouns:
   Jeff and Kate’s stock: stocks are jointly owned
   Jeff’s and Kate’s stock: some stocks are owned by Jeff, and some are owned by Kate

Adapted from: The Legal Writing Handbook—Oates, Enquist, and Kunsch
Prepared by: Jennifer Lussier and Chris Dunn