POSSESSIVE FORM

89. There is just one more change made in the form of a noun, and that is when we wish to show who or what owns or possesses a thing. Thus we write:

John's book.

The boy's hat.

And since this form of the noun denotes possession, it is called the possessive form. Some grammarians call this the possessive case.

The possessive form of nouns is made by adding an apostrophe and s, ('s); thus, day's, lady's, girl's, clerk's.

To plural nouns ending in s add only an apostrophe; thus, days', ladies', girls', clerks'.

When plural nouns do not end in s, their possessive forms are made by adding the apostrophe and s, the same as singular nouns, thus:

They make men's and women's shoes.

90. In words which end with a sound that resembles that of s, the apostrophe with s forms an additional syllable. Thus:

James's (pronounced James-ez.)

Mr. Lynch's (pronounced Lynch-ez.)

The only exception to the rule occurs when the addition of another s would make too many hissing sounds, then we add the apostrophe alone. Thus:

For goodness' sake.

In Jesus' name.

91. In forming the possessive of compound nouns, the possessive sign is always placed at the end, thus:

My son-in-law's sister.

The man-of-war's cannon.

92. When we wish to show that a thing belongs to two or more persons who are joint owners of it, we add the possessive sign to the last word only, thus:

Carson, Price and Scott's store.

Mason and Hamlin's pianos.

If it is a separate ownership that we wish to denote, we place the possessive sign after each name, thus:

Bring me John's and Mary's books.

Lee's and Grant's armies met in battle.

Remember that the noun has just three changes in form, one for the plural number, one to denote gender and one for the possessive form. Watch carefully your own language and that of your friends and note if these changes are correctly made.

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