In reading the rules for writing possessives, I’ve found much more confusion and complexity than I’ve found clarity. So, I’m going to describe my rule for possessives in hopes that it will make punctuating the form much easier.

Some rules make a distinction between the singular and plural form stating that the apostrophe comes before the “s” in the singular form, after the “s” in the plural form, unless the plural form does not end in “s” in which case……blah blah blah.
I have an easier method. Add apostrophe+s to everything. Here are four examples:

Chris

boy

ladies

children

Add apostrophe+s:

Chris’s

boy’s

ladies’s

children’s

Now wherever you see two s’s next to each other, get rid of the second “s”:

Chris’

boy’s

ladies’

children’s

Now the apostrophe sits right where it belongs. Simple!

Filed under: English and Grammar
by The Hipster