To show possession using an apostrophe, add ’s for individuals (“Smith’s car”) and just the apostrophe after the s for plurals (“the Smiths’ car,” “the Martinezes’ dog”). By convention, names from classical mythology and the Bible ending in s show possession with the apostrophe only (“Jesus’ teachings”).

Most names follow these same rules. Names that don't end in an "s" add an apostrophe and "s": Shakespeare's plays Peter's dog Anna's bicycle When the name ends in an "s", you either add an apostrophe and "s" or just an apostrophe.

Use the apostrophe to show possession. To show possession with a singular noun, add an apostrophe plus the letter s. Examples:a woman’s hat the boss’s wife Mrs. Chang’s house Rule 1b. Many common nouns end in the letter s (lens, cactus, bus, etc.). So do a lot of proper nouns (Mr. Jones, Texas, Christmas).

The rules for using apostrophes with names are basically the same as those for all other nouns. Many rules are offered as a style guide for learning the English language for formal writing, including in the Chicago manual of style. For most names, you add an apostrophe and an “s” to make the possessive form.