I have had a few questions recently about apostrophes in English.The apostrophe indicates possession - how one noun belongs to another. The basic rules are as follows:
1. If the first noun is in the singular, the apostrophe goes before the 's':
Adam's relationship with Eve. = one Adam
The city's image has changed a lot. = one city
It's the week's best kept secret. = one week
Note that the second noun can be in the singular or plural - this makes no difference to the apostrophe:
Adam's gardening skills did not please Eve.
The city's parks are charming.
The week's events left everyone exhausted.
2. If the first noun is in the plural, the apostrophe goes after the 's':
The cities' leaders vowed to fight on. = more than one city
The players' wives were proud of them. = more than one player
The weeks' events left everyone exhausted. = more than one week
Again, the second noun can be in singular or plural.
3. If the first noun is singular and already ends in 's', use an apostrophe after the 's' (the most common solution) or add another 's':
Keats' poems are world famous.
Ross's solution was the best.
4. Note that some double nouns are so closely connected in everyday life that they make one compound noun. In these cases, no apostrophe is used. Some examples:
the garden fence (not 'the garden's fence')
the door handle (not 'the door's handle')
Did you know?
4. Note that some double nouns are so closely connected in everyday life that they make one compound noun. In these cases, no apostrophe is used. Some examples:
the garden fence (not 'the garden's fence')
the door handle (not 'the door's handle')
Did you know?
Some people don't like apostrophes and want to see the end of them.
