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Nouns
Plural
Noun Forms
The plural form of most nouns is created simply by adding the letter s.
more than one snake = snakes
more than one ski = skis
more than one Barrymore = Barrymores
Words that end in -ch, x, s or s-like sounds, however, will require an -es for the plural:
more than one witch = witches
more than one box = boxes
more than one gas = gases
more than one bus = buses
more than one kiss = kisses
more than one Jones = Joneses
Note that some dictionaries list "busses" as an acceptable plural for "bus." Presumably, this is because the plural "buses" looks like it ought to rhyme with the plural of "fuse," which is "fuses." "Buses" is still listed as the preferable plural form. "Busses" is the plural, of course, for "buss," a seldom used word for "kiss."
There are several nouns that have irregular plural forms. Plurals formed in this way are sometimes called mutated (or mutating) plurals.
more than one child = children
more than one woman = women
more than one man = men
more than one person = people
more than one goose = geese
more than one mouse = mice
more than one barracks = barracks
more than one deer = deer
And, finally, there are nouns that maintain their Latin or Greek form in the plural. (See media and data and alumni, below.)
more than one nucleus = nuclei
more than one syllabus = syllabi
more than one focus = foci
more than one fungus = fungi
more than one cactus = cacti (cactuses is acceptable)
more than one thesis = theses
more than one crisis = crises*
more than one phenomenon = phenomena
more than one index = indices (indexes is acceptable)
more than one appendix = appendices (appendixes is acceptable)
more than one criterion = criteria
*Note the pronunciation of this word, crises: the second syllable sounds like ease. More than one base in the game of baseball is bases, but more than one basis for an argument, say, is also bases, and then we pronounce the word basease.
A handful of nouns appear to be plural in form but take a singular verb:
The news is bad.
Gymnastics is fun to watch.
Economics/mathematics/statistics is said to be difficult. ("Economics" can sometimes be a plural concept, as in "The economics of the situation demand that . . . .")
Numerical expressions are usually singular, but can be plural if the individuals within a numerical group are acting individually:
Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money.
One-half of the faculty is retiring this summer.
One-half of the faculty have doctorates.
Fifty percent of the students have voted already.
And another handful of nouns might seem to be singular in nature but take a plural form and always use a plural verb:
My pants are torn. (Nowadays you will sometimes see this word as a singular "pant" [meaning one pair of pants] especially in clothing ads, but most writers would regard that as an affectation.)
Her scissors were stolen.
The glasses have slipped down his nose again.
When a noun names the title of something or is a word being used as a word, it is singular whether the word takes a singular form or not.
Faces is the name of the new restaurant downtown.
Okies, which most people regard as a disparaging word, was first used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s.
Chelmsley Brothers is the best moving company in town.
Postcards is my favorite novel.
The term Okies was used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s. (In this sentence, the word Okies is actually an appositive for the singular subject, "term.")
Plural Compound Nouns
Compound words create special problems when we need to pluralize them. As a general rule, the element within the compound that word that is pluralized will receive the plural -s, but it's not always that simple. Daughters-in-law follows the general rule, but cupfuls does not. See the special section on Compound Nouns and Modifiers or, better yet, a good dictionary, for additional help.
Problem Children
Many careful writers insist that the words data and media are Latin plurals and must, therefore, be used as plural words. The singular Latin forms of these words, however, are seldom used: datum as a single bit of information or medium as a single means of communication. Many authorities nowadays approve sentences like My data is lost. and The media is out to get the President. Even textbooks in computer science are beginning to use "data" as a singular.
Alumni and alumnae remain problematic. The plural of masculine singular alumnus is alumni; the plural of feminine singular alumna is alumnae. In traditional Latin, the masculine plural form, alumni, could include both genders. This does not go over well with some female alums. We note, furthermore, that Vassar College, which now has both, has lists of alumni and alumnae. Hartford College for Women, we assume, has only alumnae. In its publication style manual, Wesleyan University approves of alumni/ae. The genderless graduate and the truncated and informal alum have much to commend them.
Special Cases
With words that end in a consonant and a y, you'll need to change the y to an i and add es.
more than one baby = babies
more than one gallery = galleries
(Notice the difference between this and galleys, where the final y is not preceded by a consonant.)
more than one reality = realities
This rule does not apply to proper nouns:
more than one Kennedy = Kennedys
Words that end in o create special problems.
more than one potato = potatoes
more than one hero = heroes
. . . however . . .
more than one memo = memos
more than one cello = cellos
. . . and for words where another vowel comes before the o . . .
more than one stereo = stereos
Plurals of words that end in -f or -fe usually change the f sound to a v sound and add s or -es.
more than one knife = knives
more than one leaf = leaves
more than one hoof = hooves
more than one life = lives
more than one self = selves
more than one elf = elves
There are, however, exceptions:
more than one dwarf = dwarfs
more than one roof = roofs
When in doubt, as always, consult a dictionary. Some dictionaries, for instance, will list both wharfs and wharves as acceptable plural forms of wharf. It makes for good arguments when you're playing Scrabble. The online version of Merriam-Webster's //www.bster Dictionary should help.
Collective Nouns, Company Names,
Family Names, Sports Teams
There are, further, so called collective nouns, which are singular when we think of them as groups and plural when we think of the individuals acting within the whole (which happens sometimes, but not often).
audience
band
class
committee
crowd
dozen
family
flock
group
heap
herd
jury
kind
lot
[the] number
public
staff
team
Thus, if we're talking about eggs, we could say "A dozen is probably not enough." But if we're talking partying with our friends, we could say, "A dozen are coming over this afternoon." The jury delivers its verdict. [But] The jury came in and took their seats. We could say the Tokyo String Quartet is one of the best string ensembles in the world, but we could say the Beatles were some of the most famous singers in history. Generally, band names and musical groups take singular or plural verbs depending on the form of their names: "The Mamas and the Papas were one of the best groups of the 70s" and "Metallica is my favorite band."
Note that "the number" is a singular collective noun. "The number of applicants is steadily increasing." "A number," on the other hand, is a plural form: "There are several students in the lobby. A number are here to see the president."
Collective nouns are count nouns which means they, themselves, can be pluralized: a university has several athletic teams and classes. And the immigrant families kept watch over their herds and flocks.
The word following the phrase one of the (as an object of the preposition of) will always be plural.
One of the reasons we do this is that it rains a lot in spring.
One of the students in this room is responsible.
Notice, though, that the verb ("is") agrees with one, which is singular, and not with the object of the preposition, which is always plural.
When a family name (a proper noun) is pluralized, we almost always simply add an "s." So we go to visit the Smiths, the Kennedys, the Grays, etc.When a family name ends in s, x, ch, sh, or z, however, we form the plural by added -es, as in the Marches, the Joneses, the Maddoxes, the Bushes, the Rodriguezes. Do not form a family name plural by using an apostrophe; that device is reserved for creating possessive forms.
When a proper noun ends in an "s" with a hard "z" sound, we don't add any ending to form the plural: "The Chambers are coming to dinner" (not the Chamberses); "The Hodges used to live here" (not the Hodgeses). There are exceptions even to this: we say "The Joneses are coming over," and we'd probably write "The Stevenses are coming, too." A modest proposal: women whose last names end in "s" (pronounced "z") should marry and take the names of men whose last names do not end with that sound, and eventually this problem will disappear.
The names of companies and other organizations are usually regarded as singular, regardless of their ending: "General Motors has announced its fall lineup of new vehicles." Try to avoid the inconsistency that is almost inevitable when you think of corporate entities as a group of individuals: "General Motors has announced their fall lineup of new vehicles." But note that some inconsistency is acceptable in all but the most formal writing: "Ford has announced its breakup with Firestone Tires. Their cars will no longer use tires built by Firestone." Some writers will use a plural verb when a plural construction such as "Associates" is part of the company's title or when the title consists of a series of names: "Upton, Vernon, and Gridley are moving to new law offices next week" or "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego & Associates have won all their cases this year." Singular verbs and pronouns would be correct in those sentences, also.
The names of sports teams, on the other hand, are treated as plurals, regardless of the form of that name. We would write that "The Yankees have signed a new third baseman" and "The Yankees are a great organization" (even if we're Red Sox fans) and that "For two years in a row, the Utah Jazz have attempted to draft a big man." When we refer to a team by the city in which it resides, however, we use the singular, as in "Dallas has attempted to secure the services of two assistant coaches that Green Bay hopes to keep." (This is decidedly not a British practice. In the UK, the city or country names by which British newspapers refer to soccer teams, for example, are used as plurals a practice that seems odd and inconsistent to American ears: "A minute's silence will precede the game at Le Stadium today, when Toulouse play Munster, and tomorrow at Lansdowne Road, when Leinster attempt to reach their first European final by beating Perpignan" [report in the online London Times].)
In a rare dictum-making mood, William Safire (in No Uncertain Terms, 2003) declares that pluralized names like Packers and Yankees should take plural verbs (obviously), but that team names like the Jazz, the Heat, the Lightning, the Connecticut Sun should take singular verbs. This dictum seems to prevail in Safire's own New York Times: "The [Miami] Heat, typical of its resilience at home, was far from through. " But just about everywhere else in the world of sports reporting, this is not the case. Even in the Times, an AP report asserts that "The Heat, down 2-0 in the East Conference semifinal series, have won 16 straight home games." The Boston Globe says that "the [New England] Revolution are reestablishing their reputation for resourcefulness and spirited play." and "the Heat were in it in the first half." The Hartford Courant writes that "When the Connecticut Sun play an exhibition game tonight in Houston, coach Mike Thibault will have two more players." Finally, NBA Media Ventures writes that "The Utah Jazz were expected to follow the rebuilding mode
." [All quotations are from May 10th and 20th, 2004, online sources.)
Plurals and Apostrophes
We use an apostrophe to create plural forms in two limited situations: for pluralized letters of the alphabet and when we are trying to create the plural form of a word that refers to the word itself. Here we also should italicize this "word as word," but not the 's ending that belongs to it. Do not use the apostrophe+s to create the plural of acronyms (pronounceable abbreviations such as laser and IRA and URL*) and other abbreviations. (A possible exception to this last rule is an acronym that ends in "S": "We filed four NOS's in that folder.")
Jeffrey got four A's on his last report card.
Towanda learned very quickly to mind her p's and q's.
You have fifteen and's in that last paragraph.
Notice that we do not use an apostrophe -s to create the plural of a word-in-itself. For instance, we would refer to the "ins and outs" of a mystery, the "yeses and nos" of a vote (NYPL Writer's Guide to Style and Usage), and we assume that Theodore Bernstein knew what he was talking about in his book Dos, Don'ts & Maybes of English Usage. We would also write "The shortstop made two spectacular outs in that inning." But when we refer to a word-as-a-word, we first italicize it I pointed out the use of the word out in that sentence. and if necessary, we pluralize it by adding the unitalicized apostrophe -s "In his essay on prepositions, Jose used an astonishing three dozen out's." This practice is not universally followed, and in newspapers, you would find our example sentence written without italics or apostrophe: "You have fifteen ands in that last paragraph."
Some abbreviations have embedded plural forms, and there are often inconsistencies in creating the plurals of these words. The speed of an internal combustion engine is measured in "revolutions per minute" or rpm (lower case) and the efficiency of an automobile is reported in "miles per gallon" or mpg (no "-s" endings). On the other hand, baseball players love to accumulate "runs batted in," a statistic that is usually reported as RBIs (although it would not be terribly unusual to hear that someone got 100 RBI last year and some baseball commentators will talk about "ribbies," too). Also, the U.S. military provides "meals ready to eat" and those rations are usually described as MREs (not MRE). When an abbreviation can be used to refer to a singular thing a run batted in, a meal ready-to-eat, a prisoner of war it's surely a good idea to form the plural by adding "s" to the abbreviation: RBIs, MREs, POWs. (Notice that no apostrophe is involved in the formation of these plurals. Whether abbreviations like these are formed with upper- or lower-case letters is a matter of great mystery; only your dictionary editor knows for sure.)
Notice, furthermore, that we do not use an apostrophe to create plurals in the following:
The 1890s in Europe are widely regarded as years of social decadence.
I have prepared 1099s for the entire staff.
Rosa and her brother have identical IQs, and they both have PhDs from Harvard.
She has over 400 URLs* in her bookmark file.
Authority for this last paragraph: Keys for Writers: A Brief Handbook by Ann Raimes. Houghton Mifflin: New York. 1996.
Singular Subjects, Plural Predicates, etc.
We frequently run into a situation in which a singular subject is linked to a plural predicate:
My favorite breakfast is cereal with fruit, milk, orange juice, and toast.
Sometimes, too, a plural subject can be linked to singular predicate:
Mistakes in parallelism are the only problem here.
In such situations, remember that the number (singular or plural) of the subject, not the predicate, determines the number of the verb. See the section on Subject-Verb Agreement for further help.
A special situation exists when a subject seems not to agree with its predicate. For instance, when we want each student to see his or her counselor (and each student is assigned to only one counselor), but we want to avoid that "his or her" construction by pluralizing, do we say "Students must see their counselors" or "Students must see their counselor"? The singular counselor is necesssary to avoid the implication that students have more than one counselor apiece. Do we say "Many sons dislike their father or fathers"? We don't mean to suggest that the sons have more than one father, so we use the singular father. Theodore Bernstein, in Dos, Don'ts and Maybes of English Usage, says that "Idiomatically the noun applying to more than one person remains in the singular when (a) it represents a quality or thing possessed in common ("The audience's curiosity was aroused"); or (b) it is an abstraction ("The judges applied their reason to the problem"), or (c) it is a figurative word ("All ten children had a sweet tooth") (203). Sometimes good sense will have to guide you. We might want to say "Puzzled, the children scratched their head" to avoid the image of multi-headed children, but "The audience rose to their foot" is plainly ridiculous and about to tip over.
In "The boys moved their car/cars," the plural would indicate that each boy owned a car, the singular that the boys (together) owned one car (which is quite possible). It is also possible that each boy owned more than one car. Be prepared for such situations, and consider carefully the implications of using either the singular or the plural. You might have to avoid the problem by going the opposite direction of pluralizing: moving things to the singular and talking about what each boy did.
*The jury still seems to be out on whether URL (acronym for Uniform [or Universal] Resource Locator), the address of a Website on the World Wide Web, should be pronounced like the name of your Uncle Earl or as a series of letters: U*R*L. The information technology experts at the college where I work use the "earl" pronunciation, and one would have to ask why you'd want to say "you-are-ell" when a simple "earl" would suffice. In either case, though, the plural of URL would be spelled URLs. The New York Times, by the way, would insist on U.R.L.'s because their style guide requires that everything be capitalized in headlines and URLS would look dumb in a headline. So use URLs unless you're writing for the New York Times.
Count and Non-Count
Nouns
What are COUNT NOUNS?
Look around the room or the classroom you're sitting in the more "stuff" in the room, the better. Name some things that somebody must have carried into the room.
desks, chairs, flag, clock, computers, keyboards, projector, books, bookcases, pens, notebooks, backpacks, lights, students (Well, maybe the students walked in under their own power!)
Now name some things that are part of the room itself.
floor, wall, ceiling, windows, door, chalkboard
You can imagine there being more than one of everything you've named so far although you might have to have more than one room to have more than one floor or ceiling. These are all COUNT NOUNS, things that you can count.
Usage Notes:
Count nouns can be pluralized when appropriate. See the section on Plurals for help with the proper formation of noun plurals.
We can use expressions such as
many bottles
few bottles
a few bottles
These nouns, both singular and plural, can be preceded by the appropriate definite and indefinite articles the with both singular and plural, a or an with singular count-nouns.
Singular count nouns can be preceded by this and that and by every, each, either, and neither.
Plural count nouns can be preceded by these and those and by some, any, enough, and the zero article. The phrase number of is accompanied by count nouns.
Count nouns cannot be preceded by much. The phrase amount of is also a sure sign that you are not dealing with a count noun.
What are MASS (NON-COUNT) NOUNS?
Here is a list of MASS NOUNS for you to consider. Can you count any of these things? Do we use the plural form of any of these words in common speech and writing? What do the things in the first column have in common? the second column? In the first section, above, we named things in the classroom that we could count. What are some things in the same room that we can't count?
wood
cloth
ice
plastic
wool
steel
aluminum
metal
glass
leather
porcelain
hair
dust
air
oxygen
water
milk
wine
beer
cake
sugar
rice
meat
cheese
flour
reading
boating
smoking
dancing
soccer
hockey
weather
heat
sunshine
electricity
biology
history
mathematics
economics
poetry
Chinese
Spanish
English
luggage
equipment
furniture
experience
applause
photography
traffic
harm
publicity
homework
advice
Usage Notes:
Are there categories of things in the third and fourth columns as well? Click HERE for categories we see.
Generally, these nouns cannot be pluralized. The non-count nouns of the second column (foodstuff) are pluralized when we use the word to express a "type":
There are new wines being introduced every day.
The waters of the Atlantic are much warmer this time of year.
The Dutch are famous for their cheeses.
The spring rains came early.
We can use expressions such as
much harm
little harm
a little harm
It is appropriate to precede these nouns with a definite or indefinite article.
the sunshine
an experience
a wine
But they frequently appear with zero article:
Smoking is bad for you.
Poetry is beautiful.
Sugar is sweet.
Experience is the best teacher.
These nouns can be preceded by some, any, enough, this, that, and much.
Because they are not countable, these nouns cannot be preceded by these, those, every, each, either, and neither.
What are ABSTRACT NOUNS?
Here is a list of ABSTRACT NOUNS for you to think about. Can you touch or see any of these things in the physical sense? Can you count any of them? Can you create sentences in which some of these words can be used as plurals?
peace
warmth
hospitality
information
anger
education
melancholy
softness
violence
conduct
courage
leisure
knowledge
safety
shopping
justice
chaos
progress
speed
experience
time
friendship
trouble
work
culture
virtue
taste
evil
liberty
democracy
death
grief
piety
Usage Notes:
Because they refer to ideas, concepts, it is difficult to see how abstract nouns can be pluralized. In fact, many of them cannot be. The abstract nouns in the first two columns (above) cannot be pluralized; the abstract nouns in the second two columns can be. The section below discusses what happens to an abstract noun when it is pluralized.
The griefs of the nation are too much to bear.
The editors took liberties with our prose.
She formed many friendships at college.
In terms of quantifiers and words that precede these words, what we say about the non-count nouns, above, can be said about abstract nouns.
How can something be BOTH a COUNT NOUN and a MASS NOUN?
If we conceive of the meaning of a noun as a continuum from being specific to being general and abstract, we can see how it can move from being a count noun to a mass noun. Consider, for example, the noun experiences. When I say
I had many horrifying experiences as a pilot.
I'm referring to specific, countable moments in my life as a pilot. When I say,
This position requires experience.
I'm using the word in an abstract way; it is not something you can count; it's more like an idea, a general thing that people need to have in order to apply for this job.
If I write
The talks will take place in Degnan Hall.
these talks are countable events or lectures. If I say
I hate it when a meeting is nothing but talk.
the word talk is now uncountable; I'm referring to the general, abstract idea of idle chatter. Evils refers to specific sins pride, envy, sloth, and everyone's favorite, gluttony whereas evil refers to a general notion of being bad or ungodly.
One more example: "I love the works of Beethoven" means that I like his symphonies, his string quartets, his concerti and sonatas, his choral pieces all very countable things, works. "I hate work" means that I find the very idea of labor, in a general way, quite unappealing. Notice that the plural form means something quite different from the singular form of this word; they're obviously related, but they're different. What is the relationship between plastic and plastics, wood and woods, ice and [Italian] ices, hair and hairs?
Further, as noted earlier, almost all mass nouns can become count nouns when they are used in a classificatory sense:
They served some nice Brazilian wines.
There were some real beauties in that rose garden.
We had some serious difficulties in this project.
But some things cannot be made countable or plural: we cannot have furnitures, informations, knowledges, softnesses, or chaoses. When in doubt, consult a good dictionary.
Working with
Nouns
The concept of count versus non-count nouns presents special difficulties for students for whom English is a second language. For one thing, the determination of what nouns are countable and what nouns are non-countable is by no means universal. For instance, although somebody can advise us several times, we can't say they give us advices, although that would translate quite nicely into several other languages. We would say, in English, that they give us advice. In some languages, it makes sense to sit in a restaurant with a friend and ask for waters (and get two glasses of water) something that would sound quite peculiar in English. There are categories of count and non-count nouns and interesting ways in which these categories overlap and merge into one another. The following table will illustrate these categories. In this table, the words in reverse type (white on black) are either impossible or quite unlikely. (Seinfeld is the name of a popular American television program.)
Possessive Forms
Forming Possessives
Showing possession in English is a relatively easy matter (believe it or not). By adding an apostrophe and an s we can manage to transform most singular nouns into their possessive form:
the car's front seat
Charles's car
Bartkowski's book
a hard day's work
Some writers will say that the -s after Charles' is not necessary and that adding only the apostrophe (Charles' car) will suffice to show possession. Consistency is the key here: if you choose not to add the -s after a noun that already ends in s, do so consistently throughout your text. William Strunk's Elements of Style recommends adding the 's. (In fact, oddly enough, it's Rule Number One in Strunk's "Elementary Rules of Usage.") You will find that some nouns, especially proper nouns, especially when there are other -s and -z sounds involved, turn into clumsy beasts when you add another s: "That's old Mrs. Chambers's estate." In that case, you're better off with "Mrs. Chambers' estate."
There is another way around this problem of klunky possessives: using the "of phrase" to show possession. For instance, we would probably say the "constitution of Illinois," as opposed to "Illinois' (or Illinois's ??) constitution."
To answer that question about Illinois, you should know that most words that end in an unpronounced "s" form their possessive by adding an apostrophe + s. So we would write about "Illinois's next governor" and "Arkansas's former governor" and "the Marine Corps's policy." However, many non-English words that end with a silent "s" or "x" will form their possessives with only an apostrophe. So we would write "Alexander Dumas' first novel" and "this bordeaux' bouquet." According to the New York Public Library's Guide to Style and Usage, there are "certain expressions that end in s or the s sound that traditionally require an apostrophe only: for appearance' sake, for conscience' sake, for goodness' sake" (268). Incidentally, the NYPL Guide also suggests that when a word ends in a double s, we're better off writing its possessive with only an apostrophe: the boss' memo, the witness' statement. Many writers insist, however, that we actually hear an "es" sound attached to the possessive forms of these words, so an apostrophe -s is appropriate: boss's memo, witness's statement. If the look of the three s's in a row doesn't bother you, use that construction.
When we want the possessive of a pluralized family name, we pluralize first and then simply make the name possessive with the use of an apostrophe. Thus, we might travel in the Smiths' car when we visit the Joneses (members of the Jones family) at the Joneses' home. When the last name ends in a hard "z" sound, we usually don't add an "s" or the "-es" and simply add the apostrophe: "the Chambers' new baby."
Many writers consider it bad form to use apostrophe -s possessives with pieces of furniture and buildings or inanimate objects in general. Instead of "the desk's edge" (according to many authorities), we should write "the edge of the desk" and instead of "the hotel's windows" we should write "the windows of the hotel." In fact, we would probably avoid the possessive altogether and use the noun as an attributive: "the hotel windows." This rule (if, in fact, it is one) is no longer universally endorsed. We would not say "the radio of that car" instead of "that car's radio" (or the "car radio") and we would not write "the desire of my heart" instead of "my heart's desire." Writing "the edge of the ski" would probably be an improvement over "the ski's edge," however.
For expressions of time and measurement, the possessive is shown with an apostrophe -s: "one dollar's worth," "two dollars' worth," "a hard day's night," "two years' experience," "an evening's entertainment," and "two weeks' notice" (the title of the Hollywood movie nothwithstanding).
Remember that personal pronouns create special problems in the formation of possessives. See the chart of Noun and Pronoun Cases.
Possessives & Gerunds
Possessive forms are frequently modifiers for verb forms used as nouns, or gerunds. Using the possessive will affect how we read the sentence. For instance, "I'm worried about Joe running in the park after dark" means that I'm worried about Joe and the fact that he runs in the park after dark (the word "running" is a present participle modifying Joe). On the other hand, "I'm worried about Joe's running in the park after dark" puts the emphasis on the running that Joe is doing ("running" is a gerund, and "Joe's" modifies that verbal). Usually, almost always in fact, we use the possessive form of a noun or pronoun to modify a gerund. More is involved, however. Click HERE for further information about using the possessive form with gerunds.
Possessives versus Adjectival Labels
Don't confuse an adjectival label (sometimes called an "attributive noun") ending in s with the need for a possessive. Sometimes it's not easy to tell which is which. Do you attend a writers' conference or a writers conference? If it's a group of writers attending a conference, you want the plural ending, writers. If the conference actually belongs to the writers, then you'd want the possessive form, writers'. If you can insert another modifer between the -s word and whatever it modifies, you're probably dealing with a possessive. Additional modifiers will also help determine which form to use.
Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe threw three touchdown passes. (plural as modifier)
The Patriots' [new] quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, threw three touchdown passes. (possessive as modifier]
Possessives of Plurals & Irregular Plurals
Most plural nouns already end in s. To create their possessive, simply add an apostrophe after the s:
The Pepins' house is the big blue one on the corner.
The lions' usual source of water has dried up.
The gases' odors mixed and became nauseating.
The witches' brooms were hidden in the corner.
The babies' beds were all in a row.
With nouns whose plurals are irregular (see Plurals), however, you will need to add an apostrophe followed by an s to create the possessive form.
She plans on opening a women's clothing boutique.
Children's programming is not a high priority.
The geese's food supply was endangered.
(But with words that do not change their form when pluralized, you will have to add an -s or -es.)
The seaweed was destroyed by the fishes' overfeeding.
Holidays Showing Possession
A number of American Holidays have possessive forms, and are peculiarly inconsistent. "Mother's Day" and "Father's Day" are easy enough, one parent at a time, and "Parents' Day" is nicely pluraiized, as is "Presidents' Day" which celebrates the birthdays of both Washington and Lincoln. "All Souls' Day (Halloween)," of course, takes a plural possessive. "Veterans Day" is plural but not possessive, for historical reasons shrouded in mystery. Martin Luther King Jr. Day has no possessive. "New Year's Day," "St. Valentine's Day," St. Patrick's Day," and "April Fool's Day" all have their singular prossessive form, and so, while we're at it, does "Season's Greetings." Note that "Daylight Saving Time" is neither possessive nor plural.
Compound Possessives
When you are showing possession with compounded nouns, the apostrophe's placement depends on whether the nouns are acting separately or together.
Miguel's and Cecilia's new cars are in the parking lot.
This means that each of them has at least one new car and that their ownership is a separate matter.
Miguel and Cecilia's new cars are in the parking lot.
This construction tells us that Miguel and Cecilia share ownership of these cars. The possessive (indicated by 's) belongs to the entire phrase, not just to Cecilia.
Another example:
Lewis and Clark's expectations were very much the same.
This construction tells us that the two gentlemen held one set of expectations in common.
Lewis's and Clark's expectations were altogether different.
This means that the expectations of the two men were different (rather obvious from what the sentence says, too). We signify separate ownership by writing both of the compounded proper nouns in the possessive form.
When one of the possessors in a compound possessive is a personal pronoun, we have to put both possessors in the possessive form or we end up with something silly: "Bill and my car had to be towed last night."
Bill's and my car had to be towed last night.
Giorgio's and her father was not around much during their childhood.
If this second sentence seems unsatisfactory, you might have to do some rewriting so you end up talking about their father, instead, or revert to using both names: "Giorgio and Isabel's father wasn't around much . . . ." (and then "Giorgio" will lose the apostrophe +s).
Possessives & Compound Constructions
This is different from the problem we confront when creating possessives with compound constructions such as daughter-in-law and friend of mine. Generally, the apostrophe -s is simply added to the end of the compound structure: my daughter-in-law's car, a friend of mine's car. If this sounds clumsy, use the "of" construction to avoid the apostrophe: the car of a friend of mine, etc. This is especially useful in pluralized compound structures: the daughters-in-law's car sounds quite strange, but it's correct. We're better off with the car of the daughters-in-law. See the section on Compound Nouns and Modifiers for additional help.
Possessives with Appositive Forms
When a possessive noun is followed by an appositive, a word that renames or explains that noun, the apostrophe +s is added to the appositive, not to the noun. When this happens, we drop the comma that would normally follow the appositive phrase.
We must get Joe Bidwell, the family attorney's signature.
Create such constructions with caution, however, as you might end up writing something that looks silly:
I wrecked my best friend, Bob's car.
You're frequently better off using the "of-genitive" form, writing something like "We must get the signature of Joe Bidwell, the family attorney" and "I wrecked the car of my best friend, Bob."
Double Possessives
Do we say "a friend of my uncle" or "a friend of my uncle's"? In spite of the fact that "a friend of my uncle's" seems to overwork the notion of possessiveness, that is usually what we say and write. The double possessive construction is sometimes called the "post-genitive" or "of followed by a possessive case or an absolute possessive pronoun" (from the Oxford English Dictionary, which likes to show off). The double possessive has been around since the fifteenth century, and is widely accepted. It's extremely helpful, for instance, in distinguishing between "a picture of my father" (in which we see the old man) and "a picture of my father's" (which he owns). Native speakers will note how much more natural it is to say "He's a fan of hers" than "he's a fan of her."
Generally, what follows the "of" in a double possessive will be definite and human, not otherwise, so we would say "a friend of my uncle's" but not "a friend of the museum's [museum, instead]." What precedes the "of" is usually indefinite (a friend, not the best friend), unless it's preceded by the demonstratives this or that, as in "this friend of my father's."
Authority for the section on "double possessives": The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996. Used with the permission of Oxford University Press. Examples our own.
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