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Apostrophe before S
Apostrophe before S (with Examples)
When using a possessive apostrophe, the apostrophe goes before the "s" when the possessor is singular. For example:- The horse's hay
- A planet's atmosphere
- The children's toys
- The people's vote
- The men's bathroom
Table of Contents
- Apostrophe Placement Rules
- What Is the Possessor?
- Look Only at the Possessor
- Summary of the Rules (with Exceptions)
- The History of the Possessive Apostrophe
- Printable Test

Apostrophe Placement Rules
As covered so far, the apostrophe goes before the "s" when the possessor is singular. Conversely, the apostrophe goes after the "s" when the possessor is plural.- The horses' hay
- The horse's hay
What Is the Possessor?
In the two examples above, "horses" and "horse" are the "possessors." They are the things that own whatever follows (in this case, the hay). Here are some more examples:- The girl's haircut
- The girls' choice
- Michelangelo's sculpture
- The boys' changing room
Look Only at the Possessor
Only the possessor is important when considering apostrophe placement. The number of things being possessed does not matter. For example:- The horse's meal.
- The horse's meals.
- The horses' meal.
- The horses' meals.
Summary of the Rules (with Exceptions)
Unfortunately, there are some exceptions to the rules covered so far. Here is a summary of all the rules, including the exceptions:The History of the Possessive Apostrophe
The main function of an apostrophe is to replace a missing letter (e.g., "can't," "doesn't"). This is related to the possessive apostrophe.In old English, possession was shown by adding es to the possessor regardless of whether the possessor was singular or plural. For example:
- horsees lunch (for one horse)
- horseses lunch (for several horses)
- womanes lunch (for one woman)
- womenes lunch (for several women)
- Moseses lunch (for Moses)
This process still works for everything. There are no exceptions.
(Step 1). Identify the possessor. For example:
- horse
- horses
- woman
- women
- Moses
- horsees
- horseses
- womanes
- womenes
- Moseses
- horse's
- horses's
- woman's
- women's
- Moses's
- horse's
- horses'
- woman's
- women's
- Moses'
Read more about using apostrophes to show possession.
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