Editing Apostrophe (section)

===Possessive apostrophe===
{{See also|English possessive}}

The apostrophe is used in English to indicate what is, for historical reasons, misleadingly called the [[possessive]] case in the English language. This case was called the [[Genitive case|genitive]] until the 18th century and, like the genitive case in other languages, expresses relationships other than [[Possession (linguistics)|possession]]. For example, in the expressions "the school's headmaster", "the men's department", and "tomorrow's weather", the school does not own/possess the headmaster, men do not own/possess the department, and tomorrow does not/will not own the weather. In the words of [[Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage]]:

{{blockquote|The argument is a case of fooling oneself with one's own terminology. After the 18th-century grammarians began to refer to the genitive case as the possessive case, grammarians and other commentators got it into their heads that the only use of the case was to show possession{{nbsp}}[...] Simply changing the name of the genitive does not change or eliminate any of its multiple functions.<ref>{{cite book |page=[https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersd00merr/page/475 475] |title=Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/ |url-access=registration |date=1994 |publisher=Merriam-Webster |isbn=9780877791324}}</ref>}}

This dictionary also cites a study<ref>{{Cite book |title=American English Grammar: The Grammatical Structure of Present-day American English with Especial Reference to Social Differences Or Class Dialects |first=Charles Carpenter |last=Fries |url=https://archive.org/details/americanenglishg00frie |url-access=registration |date=1940 |publisher=Appleton-Century |page=[https://archive.org/details/americanenglishg00frie/page/75/mode/1up 75]}}</ref> that found that only 40% of the possessive forms were used to indicate actual possession.<ref>{{cite book |page=[https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersd00merr/page/475 475] |title=Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage |url=https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersd00merr |url-access=registration |date=1994 |publisher=Merriam-Webster |isbn=9780877791324 |quote=The only statistical investigation of the genitive case that we are aware of can be found in Fries 1940. Fries found that the possessive genitive was the most common, but that it accounted for only 40 percent of all genitives.}}</ref>

The modern spelling convention distinguishes possessive singular forms ("Bernadette's", "flower's", "glass's", "one's") from simple plural forms ("Bernadettes", "flowers", "glasses", "ones"), and both of those from possessive plural forms ("Bernadettes{{'"}}, "flowers{{'"}}, "glasses{{'"}}, "ones{{'"}}). For example, the word "glass's" is the singular possessive form of the noun "glass". The plural form of "glass" is "glasses" and the plural possessive form is, therefore, "glasses{{'"}}. One would therefore say "I drank the glass's contents" to indicate drinking from one glass, but "I drank the glasses' contents" after also drinking from another glass.

For singular forms, the modern possessive or [[genitive]] inflection is a survival from [[Old English grammar#Nouns|certain genitive inflections]] in Old English, for which the apostrophe originally marked the loss of the old "e" (for example, {{lang|ang|lambes}} became {{lang|ang|lamb's}}). Its use for indicating plural "possessive" forms was not standard before the middle of the 19th century.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

====General principles for the possessive apostrophe====
===== Summary of rules for most situations =====
* Possessive personal pronouns, serving as either noun-equivalents or adjective-equivalents, do not use an apostrophe, even when they end in "s". The complete list of those ending in the letter "s" or the corresponding sound {{IPA|/s/}} or {{IPA|/z/}} but not taking an apostrophe is "ours", "yours", "his", "hers", "its", "theirs", and "whose".
* Other pronouns, singular nouns not ending in "s", and plural nouns not ending in "s" all take {{" '}}s" in the possessive: e.g., "someone's", "a cat's toys", "women's".
* Plural nouns already ending in "s" take only an apostrophe after the pre-existing "s" to form the possessive: e.g., "three cats' toys".

===== Basic rule (singular nouns) =====

For most singular nouns the ending {{" '}}s" is added; e.g., "the cat's whiskers".
*If a singular noun ends with an "s"-sound (spelled with "-s", "-se", for example), practice varies as to whether to add {{" '}}s" or the apostrophe alone. In many cases, both spoken and written forms differ between writers (see details [[#Singular nouns ending with an "s" or "z" sound|below]]).
* Acronyms and initialisms used as nouns (CD, DVD, NATO, RADAR, etc.) follow the same rules as singular nouns: e.g., "the TV's picture quality".

===== {{anchor|Plural possessive}}Basic rule (plural nouns) =====

When the noun is a normal plural, with an added "s", no extra "s" is added in the possessive, and it is pronounced accordingly; so "the neighbours' garden" (there is more than one neighbour owning the garden) is standard rather than "the neighbours's garden".
* If the plural is not one that is formed by adding "s", an "s" is added for the possessive, after the apostrophe: "children's hats", "women's hairdresser", "some people's eyes" (but compare "some peoples' recent emergence into nationhood", where "peoples" is meant as the plural of the singular "people"). These principles are universally accepted.
* A few English nouns have plurals that are not spelled with a final "s" but nevertheless end in an /s/ or a /z/ sound: "mice" (plural of "mouse"; also in compounds like "[[dormouse]]", "[[titmouse]]"), "[[dice]]" (when used as the plural of "die"), "pence" (a plural of "penny", with compounds like "sixpence" that now tend to be taken as singulars). In the absence of specific exceptional treatment in style guides, the possessives of these plurals are formed by adding an apostrophe and an "s" in the standard way: "seven [[titmice|titmice's]] tails were found", "the dice's last fall was a seven", "his few pence's value was not enough to buy bread". These would often be rephrased, where possible: "the last fall of the dice was a seven".{{NoteTag|"Pease" as an old plural of "pea" is indeterminate: Lentils' and pease'[s] use in such dishes was optional. Nouns borrowed from French ending in ''-eau'', ''-eu'', ''-au'', or ''-ou'' sometimes have alternative plurals that retain the French ''-x'': ''beaux'' or ''beaus''; ''bureaux'' or ''bureaus''; ''adieux'' or ''adieus''; ''fabliaux'' or ''fabliaus''; ''choux'' or ''chous''. The ''x'' in these plurals is often pronounced. If it is, then (in the absence of specific rulings from style guides) the plural possessives are formed with an apostrophe alone: ''the beaux' [or beaus'] appearance at the ball''; ''the bureaux' [or bureaus'] responses differed''. If the ''x'' is not pronounced, then in the absence of special rulings the plurals are formed with an apostrophe followed by an ''s'': ''the beaux's appearance''; ''the bureaux's responses''; ''their adieux's effect was that everyone wept''. See also [[#Nouns ending with silent s, x, or z|Nouns ending with silent "s", "x" or "z"]], below, and attached notes.}}

===== Basic rule (compound nouns) =====

Compound nouns have their singular possessives formed with an apostrophe and an added ''s'', in accordance with the rules given above: ''the Attorney-General's husband''; ''the [[Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports]]'s prerogative''; ''this Minister for Justice's intervention''; ''her father-in-law's new wife''.
*In such examples, the plurals are formed with an ''s'' that does not occur at the end: e.g., ''attorneys-general''. A problem therefore arises with the ''possessive'' plurals of these compounds. Sources that rule on the matter appear to favour the following forms, in which there is both an ''s'' added to form the plural, and a separate '' 's'' added for the possessive: ''the attorneys-general's husbands''; ''successive Ministers for Justice's interventions''; ''their fathers-in-law's new wives''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Style Guide |url=http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/bjssg.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313021406/http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/bjssg.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2008 |publisher=US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/2000/chapter_txt-8.html |url-status=dead |title=The United States Government Printing Office Style Manual 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060627092149/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/2000/chapter_txt-8.html |archive-date=27 June 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=[[The Chicago Manual of Style]] |chapter=§5.25 |quote=The possessive of a multiword compound noun is formed by adding the appropriate ending to the last word {parents-in-law's message}.}}</ref> Because these constructions stretch the resources of punctuation beyond comfort, in practice they are normally reworded: ''interventions by successive Ministers for Justice''.<ref>CMOS, 7.25: "If plural compounds pose problems, opt for ''of''. ... ''the professions of both my daughters-in-law''."</ref><ref>[http://www.llc.manchester.ac.uk/subjects/lel/staff/david-denison/papers/Fileuploadmax10Mb,120431,en.pdf ''Is the English Possessive ''{{'s}}'' Truly a Right-hand Phenomenon?'']{{dead link|date=May 2012}}</ref>

===== Joint or separate possession =====

For two nouns (or noun phrases) joined by ''and'', there are several ways of expressing possession, including:
:1. marking of the last noun (e.g. "Jack and Jill's children")
:2. marking of both nouns (e.g. "Jack's and Jill's children").<ref name="Cambridge Grammar: Coordination and genitives">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=Rodney |author1-link=Rodney Huddleston |last2=Pullum |first2=Geoffrey |author2-link=Geoffrey Pullum |title=The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language |date=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0521431468 |pages=1330–1332}}</ref>
Some grammars make no distinction in meaning between the two forms.{{NoteTag|For instance:
*''[[The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language]]'', explicitly states
::"Types I [Jack and Jill's] and II [Jack's and Jill's] are not semantically contrastive. Both allow either a joint or distributive interpretation of the genitive relation."<ref name="Cambridge Grammar: Coordination and genitives"/>
*''[[A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language]]'' explicitly states
::"A coordination of genitives such as ''John's and Mary's children'' may be interpreted in either a combinatory or a segregatory fashion:
:::combinatory meaning:
:::::'the children who are joint offspring of John and Mary'
::: segregatory meaning:
:::::'John's child and Mary's child'
::: or 'John's children and Mary's child'
::: or 'John's child and Mary's children'
::: or 'John's children and Mary's children' "<ref name="Comprehensive Grammar: Coordination of genitives">{{cite book |last1=Quirk |first1=Randolph |author-link1=Randolph Quirk |last2=Greenbaum |first2=Sidney |author-link2=Sidney Greenbaum |last3=Leech |first3=Geoffrey |author-link3=Geoffrey Leech |last4=Svartvik |first4=Jan |date=1985 |title=A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language |url=https://archive.org/details/comprehensivegra00quir |url-access=registration |location=Harlow |publisher=Longman |isbn=9780582517349 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/comprehensivegra00quir/page/963 963–965]}}</ref>}} Some publishers' style guides, however, make a distinction, assigning the "segregatory" (or "distributive") meaning to the form "John's and Mary's" and the "combinatorial" (or "joint") meaning to the form "John and Mary's".{{NoteTag|For instance:
*''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'' (16th ed.) states:
:"Closely linked nouns are considered a single unit in forming the possessive when the thing being 'possessed' is the same for both; only the second element takes the possessive form.
::my aunt and uncle's house [...]
:When the things possessed are discrete, both nouns take the possessive form.
::my aunt's and uncle's medical profiles [...]"<ref name="CMS: Joint versus separate possession">{{cite book |title=The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers |publisher=University of Chicago Press |date=1993 |isbn=9780226103891 |edition=14th |page=356}}</ref>
*''[[New Hart's Rules]]'' states:
:"Use ''{{'}}s'' after the last of a set of linked nouns where the nouns are acting together [...] but repeat ''{{'}}s'' after each noun in a set where the nouns are acting separately"<ref name="New Hart's Rules: Possession ">{{cite book |chapter=New Hart's Rules |title=New Oxford Style Manual |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199657223 |page=64}}</ref>
*''[[Garner's Modern American Usage]]'' states
:"For joint possession, an apostrophe goes with the last element in a series of names. If you put an apostrophe with each element in the series, you signal individual possession."<ref name="Garner's: Joint possessives">{{cite book |last=Garner |first=Bryan A. |author-link=Bryan A. Garner |title=Garner's Modern American Usage |url=https://archive.org/details/garnersmodername00garn |url-access=registration |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195161915 |page=[https://archive.org/details/garnersmodername00garn/page/625 625]}}</ref>}} A third alternative is a construction of the form "Jack's children and Jill's", which is always distributive, i.e. it designates the combined set of Jack's children and Jill's children.<ref name="Cambridge Grammar: Coordination and genitives" />

When a coordinate possessive construction has two personal pronouns, the normal possessive inflection is used, and there is no apostrophe (e.g., "his and her children"). The issue of the use of the apostrophe arises when the coordinate construction includes a noun (phrase) and a pronoun. In this case, the inflection of only the last item may sometimes be, at least marginally, acceptable ("you and your spouse's bank account").<ref name="Cambridge Grammar: Coordination and genitives"/><ref name="Comprehensive Grammar: Coordination of genitives"/> The inflection of both is normally preferred (e.g. Jack's and your dogs), but there is a tendency to avoid this construction, too, in favour of a construction that does not use a coordinate possessive (e.g. by using "Jack's letters and yours").<ref name="Cambridge Grammar: Coordination and genitives"/> Where a construction like "Jack's and your dogs" is used, the interpretation is usually "segregatory" (i.e. not joint possession).<ref name="Comprehensive Grammar: Coordination of genitives" />

===== With other punctuation; compounds with pronouns =====

If the word or compound includes, or ends with, a punctuation mark, an apostrophe and an ''s'' are still added in the usual way: "[[Westward Ho!]]'s railway station"; "''Awaye!''{{'}}s Paulette Whitten recorded Bob Wilson's story";<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/awaye/index/subjects_Music_2007.htm |title=''Awaye!'' |website=abc.net.au }}{{dead link|date=May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=[[The Chicago Manual of Style]] |chapter=§7.18}}</ref> ''Washington, D.C.'s museums''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Gregg Reference Manual |edition=10th |date=2005 |chapter=paragraph 641}}</ref> (assuming that the prevailing style requires full stops in ''D.C.'').
*If the word or compound already includes a possessive apostrophe, a double possessive results: ''Tom's sisters' careers''; ''the head of marketing's husband's preference''; ''the [[Fox hunting|master of foxhounds']] best dog's death''. Many style guides, while allowing that these constructions are possible, advise rephrasing: ''the head of marketing's husband prefers that&nbsp;...''. If an original apostrophe or apostrophe with ''s'' occurs at the end, it is left by itself to serve both purposes: ''Our employees are better paid than McDonald's employees''; ''Standard & Poor's indices are widely used'': the fixed forms of ''[[McDonald's]]'' and ''[[Standard & Poor's]]'' already include possessive apostrophes. For similar cases involving geographical names, see [[#Possessives in geographic names|below]].
* Similarly, the possessives of all phrases whose wording is fixed are formed in the same way:
**"[[Us and Them (song)|Us and Them]]{{" '}}s inclusion on the album ''[[The Dark Side of the Moon]]''
**[[You Am I]]'s latest CD
**[[The 69'ers]]' drummer, Tom Callaghan (only the second apostrophe is possessive)
** ''[[His 'n' Hers]]''<nowiki />'s first track is called "Joyriders".{{NoteTag|This is standard even though the possessive word ''hers'' is usually spelled without an apostrophe; see below in this section.}}
** Was ''[[She (novel)|She]]''{{'s}} success greater, or ''[[King Solomon's Mines]]''{{'s}}?{{NoteTag|Most sources are against continuing the [[italics]] used in such titles to the apostrophe and the ''s''.}}
:For complications with foreign phrases and titles, see [[#Nouns ending with silent s, x, or z|below]].

===== Time, money, and similar =====

An apostrophe is used in time and money references in constructions such as ''one hour's respite'', ''two weeks' holiday'', ''a dollar's worth'', ''five pounds' worth'', ''one mile's drive from here''. This is like an ordinary possessive use. For example, ''one hour's respite'' means ''a respite of one hour'' (exactly as ''the cat's whiskers'' means ''the whiskers of the cat'').

===== Possessive pronouns and adjectives =====

No apostrophe is used in the following possessive pronouns and adjectives: ''hers'', ''his'', ''its'', ''my'', ''mine'', ''ours'', ''theirs'', ''whose'', and ''yours''. All other possessive pronouns do end with an apostrophe and an ''s''. In singular forms, the apostrophe comes first, e.g. ''one's''; ''everyone's''; ''somebody's'', ''nobody else's'', etc., while the apostrophe follows the ''s'' in plural forms as with nouns: ''the others' complaints''.

The possessive of ''it'' was originally ''it's'', in contrast to the modern ''its''. The apostrophe was dropped by the early 19th century. Authorities are now unanimous that ''[[it's]]'' can be only a contraction of ''it is'' or ''it has''.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=its its] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606143303/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=its |date=6 June 2011}}. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved on 7 April 2013.</ref>{{NoteTag|See for example ''[[New Hart's Rules]]''. Not one of the other sources listed on this page supports the use of ''it's'' as a possessive form of ''it''.}} Despite this, using ''it's'' as a possessive pronoun is a common [[grammatical error]] in present times.

===== Importance for disambiguation =====

Each of these four phrases (listed in [[Steven Pinker]]'s ''[[The Language Instinct]]'') has a distinct meaning:
*My sister's friend's investment ''(the investment belonging to a friend of my sister)''
*My sister's friends' investment ''(the investment belonging to several friends of my sister)''
*My sisters' friend's investment ''(the investment belonging to a friend of several of my sisters)''
*My sisters' friends' investment ''(the investment belonging to several friends of several of my sisters)''

[[Kingsley Amis]], on being challenged to produce a sentence whose meaning depended on a possessive apostrophe, came up with:
*Those things over there are my husband's. (''Those things over there belong to my husband.'')
*Those things over there are my husbands'. (''Those things over there belong to several husbands of mine.'')
*Those things over there are my husbands. (''I'm married to those men over there.'')<ref>Fynes, Jane. (26 April 2007) [http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21619016-27197,00.html Courier Mail, Little things that matter] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120904080438/http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21619016-27197,00.html |date=4 September 2012}}. News.com.au. Retrieved on 7 April 2013.</ref>

====Singular nouns ending with an "s" or "z" sound====
Some singular nouns are pronounced with a [[sibilant]] sound at the end: /s/ or /z/. The spelling of these ends with ''-s'', ''-se'', ''-z'', ''-ze'', ''-ce'', ''-x'', or ''-xe''.

Most respected authorities recommend that practically all singular nouns, including those ending with a sibilant sound, have possessive forms with an extra ''s'' after the apostrophe so that the spelling reflects the underlying pronunciation. Examples include [[Oxford University Press]], the [[MLA style manual|Modern Language Association]], the [[BBC]] and ''[[The Economist]]''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100730034736/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/punctuationapostrophe ''OxfordDictionaries.com'']: "With personal names that end in ''-s'': add an apostrophe plus ''s'' when you would naturally pronounce an extra ''s'' if you said the word out loud"; ''MLA Style Manual'', 2nd edition, 1998, §3.4.7e: "To form the possessive of any singular proper noun, add an apostrophe and an ''s''"  [https://web.archive.org/web/20110818072435/http://www.bbc.co.uk/journalism/apps/tutor/html/apostrophes/Content.html ''BBC Academy'']:  "Grammarians (such as Hart, Fowler, Swan and Lynne Truss) and other authorities, such as the style guides for ''The Guardian'' and ''The Economist'', agree that the ''-{{'s}}'' form should follow all singular nouns, regardless of whether they end in an ''-s'' or not." (see also  [http://www.economist.com/research/styleGuide/index.cfm?page=841359 "''The Economist'' Style Guide""] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060503152317/http://economist.com/research/styleGuide/index.cfm?page=841359 |date=3 May 2006}}; ''[[The Elements of Style]]'' makes the same rule, with only sketchily presented exceptions.</ref> Such authorities demand possessive singulars like these: ''[[Bridget Jones's Diary]]''; ''Tony Adams's friend; my boss's job; the US's economy''. Rules that modify or extend the standard principle have included the following:
*If the singular possessive is difficult or awkward to pronounce with an added sibilant, do not add an extra ''s''; these exceptions are supported by the ''[[Yahoo!]] Style Guide'',<ref>[http://styleguide.yahoo.com/editing/punctuate-proficiently/apostrophes Yahoo Style Guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311225757/http://styleguide.yahoo.com/editing/punctuate-proficiently/apostrophes |date=11 March 2013}}: "For most singular nouns, add an apostrophe and an ''s'' (''{{'s}}'') to the end of the word... For names that end with an ''eez'' sound, use an apostrophe alone to form the possessive. Examples: ''Ramses' wife'', ''Hercules' muscles'', ''According to Jones's review, the computer's graphics card is its Achilles' heel''.</ref> and ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language|The American Heritage]] Book of English Usage''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050208103319/http://www.bartleby.com/64/82.html The American Heritage Book of English Usage. 8. Word Formation b. Forming Possessives]. bartleby.com</ref> Such sources permit possessive singulars like these: ''Socrates' later suggestion''; or ''Achilles' heel'' if that is how the pronunciation is intended. The style guides of ''[[The Economist]]''<ref>{{cite book |title=Economist Style Guide |publisher=[[The Economist]] / London Profile |location=London |date=2012 |series="Economist Books" series |isbn=9781846686061 |chapter=Punctuation}}</ref> and ''[[The Guardian]]''<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-a Style Guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617072141/https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-a |date=17 June 2023}}. The Guardian.</ref> omit the extra s in this case.
*Some style guides advise that Classical, biblical, and similar names ending in a sibilant, especially if they are [[polysyllabic]], should not take an added ''s'' in the possessive; among sources giving exceptions of this kind are ''[[The Times]]''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070310233042/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tools_and_services/specials/style_guide/article986718.ece Online Style Guide – A]. The Times Online (16 December 2005).</ref> and ''The Elements of Style'', which make general stipulations, and [[Vanderbilt University]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100217012929/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/styleguide.pdf "Vanderbilt University Style Guide"].</ref> which mentions only ''[[Moses]]'' and ''Jesus''. As a particular case, ''Jesus<nowiki>'</nowiki>''&nbsp;– referred to as "an accepted liturgical archaism" in ''[[Hart's Rules]]''&nbsp;– is commonly written instead of ''Jesus's''.
* There are also some entrenched uses, for example ''[[St James's Park]]'' (in London) (but the Newcastle stadium displays its name spelled ''[[St James' Park]]''), ''[[St James's Palace]]'' (and ''the [[Court of St James's]]''), ''[[St. James's Hospital]]'' (in Dublin), [[King James's School, Knaresborough|''King James's School'', Knaresborough]] and [[King James's School, Almondbury|''King James's School'', Almondbury]] (but there is no genitive at all in [[St James Park (Exeter)|''St James Park'' (Exeter)]] or [[St. James Park (Bronx)|''St. James Park'' (Bronx)]]; nor is there one in ''the [[King James Bible]]'' since, like the ''[[Hebrew Bible]]'', it is a description not a possessive).

Although less common, some contemporary writers still follow the older practice of omitting the second ''s'' in some cases ending with a sibilant, but usually not when written ''-x'' or ''-xe''.<ref>According to this older system, possessives of names ending in "-x" or "-xe" were usually spelled without a final "s" even when an /s/ or /z/ was pronounced at the end (e.g. "Alex' brother" instead of "Alex's brother"), but the possessives of nouns (e.g. "the fox's fur") were usually spelled as today with a final "s".</ref> The Associated Press Stylebook<ref>[http://www.calstate.edu/brand/styleguide/punctuation.shtml Punctuation |Style Guide |CSU Branding Standards Guide |CSU] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703081324/http://www.calstate.edu/brand/styleguide/punctuation.shtml |date=3 July 2013}}. Calstate.edu. Retrieved on 7 April 2013.</ref> recommends or allows the practice of omitting the additional "s" in [[Proper noun|proper nouns]] ending with an "s", but not in words ending with other sibilants ("z" and "x").<ref>''The Chicago Manual of Style''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s text: 7.23 ''An alternative practice.'' Those uncomfortable with the rules, exceptions, and options outlined above may prefer the system, formerly more common, of simply omitting the possessive ''s'' on all words ending in s&nbsp;– hence "Dylan Thomas' poetry", "Maria Callas' singing", and "that business' main concern". Though easy to apply, that usage disregards pronunciation and thus seems unnatural to many.</ref> The 15th edition of ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'' had recommended the traditional practice, which included providing for several exceptions to accommodate spoken usage such as the omission of the extra ''s'' after a polysyllabic word ending in a sibilant, but the 16th edition no longer recommends omitting the possessive "s".<ref>[http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/PossessivesandAttributives/PossessivesandAttributives01.html Chicago Style Q&A: Possessives and Attributives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210072222/http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/PossessivesandAttributives/PossessivesandAttributives01.html |date=10 December 2011}}. Chicagomanualofstyle.org. Retrieved on 7 April 2013.</ref>

Similar examples of notable names ending in an ''s'' that are often given a possessive apostrophe with no additional ''s'' include ''Dickens'' and ''Williams''. There is often a policy of leaving off the additional ''s'' on any such name, but this can prove problematic when specific names are contradictory (for example, ''[[St James' Park]]'' in [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] [the football ground] and the area of ''[[St James's Park]]'' in London). However, debate has been going on regarding the punctuation of St James' Park (Newcastle) for some time, unlike St James's Park (London) which is the less contentious version. For more details on practice with geographic names, see the relevant section [[#Possessives in geographic names|below]].

Some writers like to reflect standard spoken practice in cases like these with ''sake'': ''for convenience' sake'', ''for goodness' sake'', ''for appearance' sake'', ''for compromise' sake'', etc. This punctuation is preferred in major style guides. Others prefer to add ''<nowiki/>'s'': ''for convenience's sake''.<ref>{{cite web |title=DummiesWorld Wide Words |url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-app2.htm |access-date=13 March 2007 |archive-date=3 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103050710/http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-app2.htm |url-status=live}}. ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', 7.22: "For ... sake expressions traditionally omit the ''s'' when the noun ends in an ''s'' or an ''s'' sound." ''Oxford Style Manual'', 5.2.1: "Use an apostrophe alone after singular nouns ending in an ''s'' or ''z'' sound and combined with ''sake'': for goodness' sake".</ref> Still others prefer to omit the apostrophe when there is an ''s'' sound before ''sake'': ''for morality's sake'', but ''for convenience sake''.<ref>"Practice varies widely in ''for conscience' sake'' and ''for goodness' sake'', and the use of an apostrophe in them must be regarded as optional" ''The New Fowler's Modern English Usage'', ed. Burchfield, R. W., 3rd edition, 1996, entry for "sake", p.&nbsp;686, {{ISBN|0198610211}}.</ref>

===={{anchor|Nouns ending with silent "s", "x", or "z"}}Nouns ending with silent ''s'', ''x'', or ''z''====
<!-- This Anchor tag serves to provide a permanent target for incoming section links. Please do not remove it, nor modify it, except to add another appropriate anchor.  If you modify the section title, please anchor the old title. It is always best to anchor an old section header that has been changed so that links to it will not be broken. See [[Template:Anchor]] for details. This template is {{subst:Anchor comment}} -->
The English possessive of French nouns ending in a silent ''s'', ''x'', or ''z'' is addressed by various style guides. Certainly a sibilant is pronounced in examples like ''Descartes's'' and ''Dumas's''; the question addressed here is whether ''s'' needs to be added. Similar examples with ''x'' or ''z'': ''{{lang|FR|[[Sauce Périgueux]]}}'s main ingredient is truffle''; ''His {{lang|FR|[[pince-nez]]}}'s loss went unnoticed''; ''"Verreaux('s) eagle, a large, predominantly black eagle, ''Aquila verreauxi'',..."'' ([[OED]], entry for "Verreaux", with silent ''x''; see [[Verreaux's eagle]]); in each of these some writers might omit the added ''s''. The same principles and residual uncertainties apply with "naturalised" English words, like ''Illinois'' and ''Arkansas''.<ref>In February 2007 Arkansas historian Parker Westbrook successfully petitioned State Representative Steve Harrelson to settle once and for all that the correct possessive should not be ''Arkansas<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' but ''Arkansas's'' ([http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/02/27/arkansas_house_to_argue_over_apostrophes/ ''Arkansas House to argue over apostrophes''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105225002/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/02/27/arkansas_house_to_argue_over_apostrophes/ |date=5 January 2009}}). Arkansas's Apostrophe Act came into law in March 2007 (ABC News [USA], 6 March 2007).</ref>

For possessive ''plurals'' of words ending in a silent ''x'', ''z'' or ''s'', the few authorities that address the issue at all typically call for an added ''s'' and suggest that the apostrophe precede the ''s'': ''The Loucheux's homeland is in the Yukon''; ''Compare the two Dumas's literary achievements''.{{NoteTag|1= An apparent exception is ''The Complete Stylist'', Sheridan Baker, 2nd edition 1972, p.&nbsp;165: "''... citizens' rights'', ''the Joneses' possessions'', and similarly ''The Beaux' Stratagem''." But in fact the ''x'' in ''beaux'', as in other such plurals in English, is often already pronounced (see a note to [[#Basic rule (plural nouns)|Basic rule (plural nouns)]], above); ''[[The Beaux Stratagem]]'', the title of a play by George Farquhar (1707), originally lacked the apostrophe (see [https://archive.org/details/beauxstratagema01farqgoog the title page] of a 1752 edition); and it is complicated by the following ''s'' in ''stratagem''. Some modern editions add the apostrophe (some with an ''s'' also), some omit it; and some make a compound with a hyphen: ''The Beaux-Stratagem''. Farquhar himself used the apostrophe elsewhere in the standard ways, for both omission and possession.}} The possessive of a cited French title with a silent plural ending is uncertain: "{{lang|FR|Trois femmes}}<nowiki/>'s long and complicated publication history",<ref>Jacqueline Letzter (1998) ''Intellectual Tacking: Questions of Education in the Works of Isabelle de Charrière'', Rodopi, p.&nbsp;123, {{ISBN|9042002905}}.</ref> but "{{lang|FR|[[Les noces]]}}<nowiki>'</nowiki> singular effect was 'exotic primitive' ..." (with nearby sibilants ''-ce-'' in ''noces'' and ''s-'' in ''singular'').<ref>Elizabeth A. McAlister (2002) ''Rara!: Vodou, Power, and Performance in Haiti and Its Diaspora'', University of California Press, p.&nbsp;196, {{ISBN|0520228227}}.</ref> Compare treatment of other titles, [[#With other punctuation; compounds with pronouns|above]].

Guides typically seek a principle that will yield uniformity, even for foreign words that fit awkwardly with standard English punctuation.

====Possessives in geographic names====<!-- This section is linked from Apostrophe -->
Place names in the United States do not use the possessive apostrophe on federal maps and signs.<ref name=TimesGeo>{{cite news |title=Apostrophe Cops: Don't Be So Possessive |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/10/magazine/sunday-march-10-1996-apostrophe-cops-don-t-be-so-possessive.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] (Sunday Magazine) |date=10 March 1996 |access-date=14 February 2017 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817173959/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/10/magazine/sunday-march-10-1996-apostrophe-cops-don-t-be-so-possessive.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[United States Board on Geographic Names]], which has responsibility for formal naming of municipalities and geographic features, has deprecated the use of possessive apostrophes since 1890 so as not to show ownership of the place.<ref name=TimesGeo/><ref name=TheBoard/> Only five names of natural features in the US are officially spelled with a genitive apostrophe: [[Martha's Vineyard]]; [[Ike's Point]], New Jersey; [[John E's Pond]], Rhode Island; [[Carlos Elmer|Carlos Elmer's Joshua View]], Arizona; and [[Clark's Mountain]], Oregon.<ref name=TheBoard>[https://www.usgs.gov/us-board-on-geographic-names/how-do-i How Do I? |US Geological Survey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328054944/https://www.usgs.gov/us-board-on-geographic-names/how-do-i |date=28 March 2023}}. usgs.gov. Retrieved on 31 March 2023.</ref><ref>Cavella, C, and Kernodle, RA, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070614121856/http://www.american.edu/tesol/wpkernodlecavella.pdf How the Past Affects the Future: the Story of the Apostrophe]. american.edu</ref> Some municipalities, originally incorporated using the apostrophe, have dropped it in accordance with this policy; [[Taylors Falls]] in Minnesota, for example, was originally incorporated as "Taylor's Falls".<ref>{{cite book |volume=17 |title=Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance |last=Upham |first=Warren |date=1920 |chapter=Taylor's Falls |page=110 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ShcLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA110}}</ref> On the state level, the federal policy is not always followed: [[Vermont]]'s official state website has a page on [[Camel's Hump State Forest]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fpr.vermont.gov/camels-hump-state-forest-0|title=Camel's Hump State Forest|date=2020|agency=Agency of Natural Resources|department=Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation|website=Vermont Official State Website|access-date=24 July 2020|archive-date=13 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913192348/https://fpr.vermont.gov/camels-hump-state-forest-0|url-status=live}}</ref>

Australia's [[Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping]] also has a no-apostrophe policy, a practice it says goes back to the 1900s<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping]] |url=http://www.icsm.gov.au/cgna/consistent_place_names_guidelines.pdf |title=Guidelines for the Consistent Use of Place Names |date=April 2012 |access-date=27 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409225240/http://www.icsm.gov.au/cgna/consistent_place_names_guidelines.pdf |archive-date=9 April 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and which is generally followed around the country.<ref>"The apostrophe has been dropped from most Australian place-names and street names: ''Connells Point''; ''Wilsons Promontory''; ''Browns Lane''." ''The Penguin Working Words: an Australian Guide to Modern English Usage'', Penguin, 1993, p.&nbsp;41.</ref>

On the other hand, the United Kingdom has [[Bishop's Stortford]], [[Bishop's Castle]] and [[King's Lynn]] (among many others) but [[St Albans]], [[St Andrews]] and [[St Helens, Merseyside|St Helens]]. London Underground's Piccadilly line has the adjacent stations of [[Earl's Court tube station|Earl's Court]] in [[Earl's Court]] and [[Barons Court tube station|Barons Court]]. These names were mainly fixed in form many years before grammatical rules were fully standardised. While [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] play [[association football|football]] at a stadium called [[St James' Park]], and [[Exeter City]] at [[St James Park, Exeter|St James Park]], London has a [[St James's Park]] (this whole area of London is named after the parish of [[St James's Church, Piccadilly]]<ref>[http://www.st-james-piccadilly.org/ St James's Church Piccadilly website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429004322/http://www.st-james-piccadilly.org/ |date=29 April 2011}}. St-james-piccadilly.org. Retrieved on 7 April 2013.</ref>).

Modern usage has been influenced by considerations of technological convenience including the economy of typewriter ribbons and films, and similar computer character "disallowance" which tend to ignore past standards.<ref>E.g., under [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/909264 Naming conventions in Active Directory for computers, domains, sites, and OUs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726165249/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/909264 |date=26 July 2011}} at Microsoft Support</ref> Practice in the United Kingdom and Canada is not so uniform.<ref>''The Cambridge Guide to English Usage'', Ed. Peters, P, 2004, p.&nbsp;43.</ref>

====Possessives in names of organizations====
Sometimes the apostrophe is omitted in the names of clubs, societies, and other organizations, even though the standard principles seem to require it: ''[[Country Women's Association]]'', but ''International Aviation {{sic|Wom|ens|hide=yes}} Association'';<ref>[http://www.iawa.org/ International Aviation {{sic|Wom|ens|hide=yes}} Association] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425083405/http://www.iawa.org/ |date=25 April 2012}}. IAWA.org. Retrieved on 7 April 2013.</ref> ''[[Magistrates' Court of Victoria]]'',<ref>Spelled both with and without the apostrophe at [http://www.magistratescourt.vic.gov.au/ the court's own home page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513164253/http://www.magistratescourt.vic.gov.au/ |date=13 May 2012}}; but spelled with the apostrophe in Victorian legislation, such as [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/mca1989214/ Magistrates' Court Act, 1989] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206103610/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/mca1989214/ |date=6 December 2008}}.</ref> but ''[[Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union]]''. Usage is variable and inconsistent. Style guides typically advise consulting an official source for the standard form of the name (as one would do if uncertain about other aspects of the spelling of the name); some tend towards greater prescriptiveness, for or against such an apostrophe.{{NoteTag|''Gregg Reference Manual'', 10th edition, 2003, distinguishes between what it calls ''possessive'' and ''descriptive'' forms, and uses this distinction in analyzing the problem. From paragraph&nbsp;628: "a.&nbsp;Do not mistake a descriptive form ending in ''s'' for a possessive form[:] sales effort (sales describes the kind of effort)... b.&nbsp;Some cases can be difficult to distinguish. Is it ''the girls basketball team'' or ''the girls' basketball team?'' Try substituting an irregular plural like ''women''. You would not say ''the women basketball team''; you would say ''the women's basketball team''. By analogy, ''the girls' basketball team'' is correct" [italics given exactly as in original, including following punctuation]. (However in this case the phrase in question is not part of the name: the words are not capitalised!) And then this principle is applied to organizations at paragraph&nbsp;640, where examples are given, including the non-conforming ''Childrens Hospital, (in Los Angeles)'': "The names of many organizations, products, and publications contain words that could be considered either possessive or descriptive terms... c. In all cases follow the organization's preference when known."}} As the case of ''{{sic|wom|ens|hide=yes}}'' shows, it is not possible to analyze these forms simply as non-possessive plurals, since ''women'' is the only correct plural form of ''woman''.

====Possessives in business names====
{{See also|S-form}}

Where a business name is based on a family name it should in theory take an apostrophe, but many leave it out (contrast ''[[Sainsbury's]]'' with ''[[Harrods]]''). In recent times there has been an increasing tendency to drop the apostrophe. Names based on a first name are more likely to take an apostrophe, but this is not always the case. Some business names may inadvertently spell a different name if the name with an ''s'' at the end is also a name, such as Parson. A small activist group called the [[Apostrophe Protection Society]]<ref>[http://www.apostrophe.org.uk/ Apostrophe Protection Society's website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117000935/http://apostrophe.org.uk/ |date=17 January 2009}}. Apostrophe.org.uk (12 February 2013). Retrieved on 7 April 2013.</ref> has campaigned for large retailers such as Harrods, [[Currys]], and [[Selfridges]] to reinstate their missing punctuation. A spokesperson for [[Barclays PLC]] stated, "It has just disappeared over the years. Barclays is no longer associated with the family name."<ref name="Times">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311032847/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article614843.ece Harrods told to put its apostrophe back]. Times Online (21 August 2006).</ref> Further confusion can be caused by businesses whose names look as if they should be pronounced differently without an apostrophe, such as Paulos Circus, and other companies that leave the apostrophe out of their logos but include it in written text, such as [[Cadwalader's]].