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”).

Rules for the formation of the possessive -’s (apostrophe -s) and -s’ (-s apostrophe) are as follows: most singular nouns add an apostrophe + -s. a girl’s ring a cat’s face most plural nouns add an apostrophe after the plural form -s. the boys’ football five young girls’ faces

Apostrophes are used to show possession. For singular nouns and irregular plurals (those not ending in s), you should add ’s to the end of the word. For plural nouns ending in s, you should add only an apostrophe: the cat’s meow the people’s choice an old wives’ tale

The rules about forming possessive nouns probably cause the most apostrophe confusion. They vary a bit, depending on what type of noun you are making into a possessive. Here are the rules of thumb: For most singular nouns, add -’s: The dog’s leash The writer’s desk The planet’s atmosphere For most plural nouns, add only an apostrophe: