The form of the possessive/genitive case
The form of the possessive/genitive case
A. ‘s is used with singular nouns and plural nouns not ending in s:
a man’s job the people’s choice
men’s work the crew’s quarters
a woman’s intuition the horse’s mouth
the butcher’s (shop) the bull’s horns
a child’s voice women’s clothes
the children’s room Russia’s exports
B. A simple apostrophe (‘) is used with plural nouns ending in s: a girls’ school the students’ hostel
the eagles’ nest the Smiths’ car
C. Classical names ending in s usually add only the apostrophe:
Pythagoras’Theorem Archimedes’Law Sophocles’plays
D. Other names ending in s can take ‘s or the apostrophe alone:
Mr Jones’s (or Mr Jones’ house) Yeats’s (or Yeats’) poems
E. With compounds, the last word takes the ‘s:
my brother-in-law’s guitar Names consisting of several words are treated similarly.
Henry the Eighth’s wives the Prince of Wales’s helicopter ‘s can also be used after initials:
the PM’s secretary the MP’s briefcase the VIP’s escort Note that when the possessive case is used, the article before the person or thing ‘possessed’ disappears:
the daughter of the politician = the politician’s daughter
the intervention of America = America’s intervention
the plays of Shakespeare = Shakespeare’s plays
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