CHAPTER

THE PROBLEM

Possessives may seem difficult; as a result, many people use them when they shouldn’t, or don’ t use them when they should.  As a result, instructors are likely to flag these errors with “POSS.”  Let’s consider these sentences:

• Louella works at Freds Fabulous Family Feedbag.
• After you fell into the mixing vat, did you file for workers compensation?
• Looking at his truck, Asaph said that the paint’s color was too light.
• The Smith’s came over to my house for a round of croquet.

Even if you think that these sentences are fine, your instructor won’t; if you think that something is probably off but you’re not sure what, your instructor will know that something is definitely wrong – and expect you to find out exactly what!

Possession, as the cliché goes, is 9/10ths of the law.  Possession may not be quite 9/10ths of grammar, but ownership is important, isn’t it?  In our society we have developed a vast system of laws to determine who owns what, from public lands to private property.  And with ownership comes responsibility:  If you own a dog, for example, you need to feed her, groom her, play with her, take her for walks, give her the occasional chew toy or the occasional treat, bring her (no matter how reluctantly on both your parts) to the veterinarian for shots.  In fact, your dog is so important to you that you give her a tag to show that she belongs to you and to no one else.

WHAT THE POSSESSIVE CASE IS AND HOW IT WORKS

This is the idea behind grammatical ownership, what we call the possessive case.  You use the word case to mean the form that a noun or pronoun takes to indicate its function in a sentence.  In English there are three cases, each with a singular and plural form (what grammarians call number).  The nominative case is the form a noun takes when it acts as the subject of a clause or sentence; the objective case is the form a noun takes when it receives the action of a verb or preposition; and the possessive case is the form a noun takes to show that something belongs to someone.

For English nouns, the nominative and objective forms are always identical to each other (this is not true, however, in many other languages):

• The new assistant [subject] has restacked the cans of steamed olives.
• Velma hired the new assistant [object].

Even though the words are identical, we can tell which is subject and which is object by their positions in each sentence – in fact, that’s the only way that we can tell the difference  The basic word order in English is subject-verb-object (as it is for many – but hardly all – languages).

Almost all words in English form their plurals by –(e)s to the singular form; again, the nominative and objective forms are always identical:

• The new assistants [subject] has restacked the cans of steamed olives.
• Velma hired the new assistants [object].

The possessive case is used to show ownership; thus, you use it with living things (humans and animals) only, as only living things can possess.  (The only exceptions to this rule are expressions of time and money, as you will see in a moment.) To show possession, you change the noun, that is, the person possessing;  you don’t change the thing possessed.  This is pretty straightforward:  add –s for singular, -s’ for plural:

• The fashion model’s Carotid Crimson lipstick. (= the lipstick of one fashion model)
• The fashion models’ Carotid Crimson lipstick. (= the lipstick of more than one fashion model)

Pretty straightforward, no?  Well, maybe!

For the purposes of grammar, collective nouns like “people” and “committee” are singular:

• Some people’s ideas about hula hoops are strange.
• The committee’s report on Hula Hoop Day is due out any minute now.

Remember, too, to change the spelling, when necessary, when making a noun plural:

• She must have gone to the ladies’

Proper names, both first and last, might pose some difficulties in terms of possessives, but we think that we can offer you some guidance because the basic rule is the same:  add –s for singular, -s’ for plural:

• Anatole’s dissertation
• Jezebel’s bad attitude
• Verbena’s diamond tiara
• Gerry Balthasar’s six-pack of brewskies

When you have two people who own something together, that is, as a unit, you use the singular possessive, and on the second noun only:

• Horatio and Nadine’s 1969 pea green Volkswagen camper
• my father and mother’s legendary courtship

This is true for the name of businesses, too:

• Glumstruck and Drosser’s candle wax is the best in town.
• Josephina’s and Petula’s faces fell at the news that the Marchioness would be late.

In forming the possessives of family names, you treat the name as though it were any ordinary noun; that is, you make it plural, then add an apostrophe.  Let’ s take an example.  Say that your good friends Jonas and Minerva Smith have invited you over to their house for a round of croquet.  Ask yourself:  Who owns the house?  The Smiths – more than one, obviously.  Then you need to show that in writing with an apostrophe:

• I went to the Smiths’ house (= the house of the Smiths) for a round of croquet.

What if the family name were “Brown” or “Chase” or “Burch” or “Vasquez” or “Bally” or “Fess”?

• the Browns’ house
• the Chases’ house
• the Burches’ house
• the Vasquezes’ house
• the Ballys’ house
• the Fesses’ house

The point here is that, in the main, you treat family names like any other noun:  make it plural, then add an apostrophe.  Remember that if the name (like any noun) ends in –s, -x, -z, or –ch, you add an “e” before the “s” for the sake of pronunciation.  However, unlike nouns that end in –y, you don’t change the spelling of plural last names to “-ies”:  Note that it is the “Kellys’ house,” not the “Kellies’ house.”

Now, we’re fond of saying that nine times out of ten, grammar is logical; but just as humans themselves aren’t always logical, neither is their language  Thus it is that we must introduce a few exceptions to our rule – bug we do mean “few,” as you’ll find only a handful.  The words man, woman, and child (and a few others – ox and goose, for example – which you’ re unlikely ever to run across) are exceptions.  They’re regular in the singular:

• the man’s topiary
• the woman’s astonishing discovery
• the child’s high-pitched squealing

But these three words make their plurals not by adding -(e)s but by changing their form:

• one man but two men
• one woman but two women
• one child but two children

In these cases, the words already show that their plural without adding an -(e)s; thus, to make a plural possessive, you add ’s:

• the men’s topiary
• the women’s astonishing discovery
• the children’s high-pitched squealing

You’ve seen that only living things can possess; however, two of the most important things in life, time and money, are, not surprisingly, exceptions to this rule.  Fortunately, they form their possessives regularly:

• a good night’s sleep
• your dollar’s worth
• three nights’ sleep
• ten dollars’ worth

We should note here that some writers who hold that if a singular noun ends in an –s, you need only add an apostrophe to that word to show possession, e.g., Charles’ home-made salsa, the princess’ towering bouffant hairdo.  Apparently adding an extra –s to these words (Charles’s, the princess’s) makes these writers nervous.

However, we’re aware of no law that restricts the number of letters in a word, and while acceptable, we don’t recommend the practice of leaving off the –s in singular possessives.  Why?  In the first place (as we again note in our analogy), this spelling isn’t true to pronunciation:  we say Charl-ses, the prin-cess-es.  In the second place, leaving the –s off in the singular looks too much like the possessive plural and thus is apt to cause bewilderment and headache in both reader and writer.  We recommend that you add –s for singular, -s’ for plural – whether or not the noun ends in an -s.

THE SOLUTIONS

As we’ve just demonstrated, when you want to show that one person is owning something, you add ’s.  You can think of this as the “tag” that shows ownership.  Let’s go back to the sentences at the beginning of this chapter.

• Problem: Louella works at Freds Fabulous Family Feedbag.
• Solution: Louella works at Fred’s Fabulous Family Feedbag.

Ask yourself:  Who owns the Fabulous Family Feedbag?  Fred?  And how many is Fred – one or more than one?  Only one?  Then you need to show both those facts in writing by the use of an apostrophe.  Without the possessive, we have just a simple plural, which means that a “Freds Fabulous Family Feedbag” must be  a “Fabulous Family Feedbag for Freds,” just as a “sports bar” is a “bar for sports”!

You probably know now what’s wrong here, and what to do about it:

• Problem: After you fell into the mixing vat, did you file for workers compensation?
• Solution: After you fell into the mixing vat, did you file for workers’ compensation?

This is one of the most common errors you’ re bound to encounter in modern written English:  People just don’t use plural possessives.  But ask yourself:  Who owns that compensation?  The workers, right?  Then you need to show it:  workers’ compensation – the compensation of workers.  You’ll see this mistake even in the names of official holidays, e.g. “Veterans Day” and “Presidents Day.”  But ask yourself:  Whose day is it?  The day of the veterans, right?  Then you need to show that:  “Veterans’ Day” – the Day of Veterans.  The same is true for Presidents’ Day (= the day of presidents).  Remember:  If it belongs to more than one person, you need to show it writing.

And this pair – do you see why the first sentence is incorrect, and the second correct?

• Problem: Looking at his truck, Asaph said that the paint’s color was too light.
• Solution: Looking at his truck, Asaph said that the color of the paint was too light.

Remember, only living things can possess.  With a human, for example with might write either

• The voice of the trolley conductor made the windows shake.

or

• The the trolley conductor’s voice made the windows shake.

Either is fine.  But with objects it’s better to use the “of” structure.

• The windows of the trolley [vs “the trolley’s windows”] shook with the conductor’s voice.

Our last sentence is maybe the trickiest:

• Problem: The Smith’s came over to my house for a round of croquet.
• Solution: The Smiths came over to my house for a round of croquet.

“Wait just a minute!” you might think.  “Haven’t you just explained that family names are just like any other nouns, and so we add –s for singular, -s’ for plural?”  Right you are!  But ask yourself:  Is anyone owning anything in this sentence?  No?  Then you need subject case, not the possessive!  This case is different, of course, if possession is actually involved:

• The following evening we were invited to the Smiths’ house for a couple sets of pickleball.

Here, the Smiths own their house, yes?  Thus, the s’ is correct.

ANALOGY

Possessives refers to a form of nouns or pronouns used to show ownership.  The difficulty with possessives almost never comes in the oral form.  We know how to use possessives well in speaking and have very little trouble with that, except perhaps when it comes to using them with gerunds.

No, the big problem with possessives is that we don’ t usually know how to punctuate them.  When we create a possessive form of a noun, we are actually creating a new word out of an old word and a new ending.  We cannot destroy the integrity of the original word.  This is especially true if the word is someone’s name, but it is true even when the original word is a simple noun like day or penny.  If we change the spelling of that word in any way, our meaning will not be conveyed clearly, and our reader will have to guess at what we intended.

So think of creating possessive nouns the way you have thought of it since you were very young and just learning how to write.  Think of taking the original noun and adding ‘s.  Forget about s’ and all the other variations you might have heard since then.  Just concentrate on ’s.  You might even think about the apostrophe as the finger of the possessor and the “s” as the link to the thing which he or she owns in the sentence.  Let’s try some examples:

• the cow of Ermentrout
• the dumpster belonging to the Giudecca family
• the tapestry of Floris
• the base drum of my boss
• the kayak of the Trevelyans (Benno and Pscyhe Trevelyan)
• the breadfruit of the Wisniewskis (Jan and Eustace Wisniewskis)

We can easily take the word Ermentrout, add’s, and say Ermentrout’s cow. Likewise, regarding the dumpster, we can take the Giudecca family, add  s, and say the Giudecca family’s dumpster.  We take the original word, add the apostrophe as if it were the possessor’s very own finger, latching onto the s, which is then followed by whatever the possessor owns

Let’s do the same for Floris.  Add ’s.  We get Floris’s tapestry.  Is that right? Most authorities say that if you are likely to pronounce the extra s (that is, if you say Flor-is-es tap-es-try), you are right in spelling it exactly as we have done here.  With most one-syllable words and some two-syllable words, try the pronunciation test and see how it sounds.  In this case, yes, the apostrophe and the s are just added onto the name: the name, the finger, the s-link, and the possessed thing.

What about the next one?  Who owns the base drum?  My boss.  Add ’s to boss.  You’ll get my boss’ s desk.  That is correct.

If that’s all there is to making nouns possessive, why are we so confused?  Some time ago, when nouns (especially names) ended in s, like Floris, it was customary to add only an apostrophe, not an apostrophe and an s.  But spelling is joining pronunciation in important ways these days.  Adding ’s works for almost every one-syllable word now.  Try pronouncing and see what you discover.

Let’s try the last two, which are multi-syllable names.

First figure out the actual name:

• Trevelyan (two persons named Trevelyan)
• Wisniewski (two persons named Wisniewski)

Now add ’s to each.  Then pronounce them.

• Trevelyans’s kayak
• Wisniewskis’s breadfruit

In these two cases, we have too many s sounds:  Tre-vel-yans-es, Wis-niew-skis-es.  The extra s makes pronunciation cumbersome.  When that happens, remove the final s, but leave the apostrophe exactly where you placed it.  You will be right.

• Trevelyans’ kayak
• Wisniewskis’ breadfruit

If you think of the ’s as a finger and a link to the object possessed, and you use pronunciation as your guide, you will make sense of possessives.

LANGUAGE IN FLUX

The best grammarians are those who describe rather than proscribe – that is, they tell how people, in fact, do use language, not how people ought to use language.  That’s what we’ve been trying to do in this book:  not so much to tell people that what they say or write is “wrong,” but rather to suggest the potentially unwanted consequences of some of their grammatical choices.

For example, in the past conservative grammarians insisted that the possessive case in English shows ownership; thus, logically speaking, only living things – people and animals – can possess.  The only exceptions are time and money, which, for historical linguistic reasons, also use the possessive.  These are the “rules” that we’ve passed on to you in the chapter.  But many very learned and respectable authors nowadays will write of “the houses’s sagging porch” or “a fire’s warm glow.”  Grammatical purists may still quibble with such usage; on the other hand, since no one will quibble with “the sagging porch of the house” or “the warm glow of a fire,” this is may be the “safer” route to take in expressing yourself.

Another example is the plural possessive which, we fear, may be going the way of the dinosaur:  so few people use it correctly – when they use it at all – that its demise may be imminent.  One source of the problem may be the force of the spoken language:  we can’t hear apostrophes, so there’s no difference, in speech, among, say, “students” (plural), “student’s” (possessive singular), and “students’” (possessive plural).  Context, when we speak, determines which one we mean.  Indeed, context is the only way to tell the difference between these two sentences when they’re spoken:

• The student’s grades were available on line.
• The students’ grades were available on line.

When it come to writing, however, convention (which grows out of a desire to be clear) dictates that we distinguish among these forms by the presence (or absence) and placement of an apostrophe.  The fact that people need to figure out who’s possessing what may intimidate and confuse them.  And it’s been our experience that while most people can pretty accurately get the possessive singular, the possessive plural flummoxes them – so they either put it in the wrong place (i.e., before the “s”), or (and this is the increasingly common option) they leave it out entirely.  Thus it is that we see memos focusing on clients (for “clients’”) needs, pamphlets explaining voter’s (for “voters’”) rights, and signs for instructors handbooks (for “instructors’ handbooks”).  Look at any calendar.  We’re pretty sure that you’ll see holidays marked as “Administrative Assistants Day” for “Administrative Assistants’ Day” and the like (as above).

If the possessive plural is indeed on its way out, we, at least, are watching it go with regret.  Are we the only ones slightly baffled by a sentence like “The partners spouses were invited to all the activities”?  The nouns all look like plain old plurals to us.  Who’s possessing what?  How about “The mayor has approved the firefighter’s request for a new truck so that they can work more efficiently.”  There’s only one firefighter?  But that’s what this sentence, in its incorrect singular possessive, seems to say.

Being able to indicate a plural possessive as distinct from any old plural is a useful tool in writing.  Won’t we all miss it when it’s gone?

THE BASICS:  POSSESSIVE CASE

• WHAT IS IT? “Case” is the form that a noun takes to indicate its relationship to other elements in a sentence.  “Possessive case” indicates ownership.
• WHEN DO YOU USE IT? You use the possessive to show that something belongs to someone.  Because only living beings can own, you use the possessive with people and animals only.  The only two exceptions to this are expressions of time or money.
• WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? The possessive has two forms, singular and plural.  You form the singular possessive by adding ’s to the noun.  You form the plural possessive by first making the noun plural, and then adding an apostrophe s’.

EXERCISE

Correct the possessive errors – if necessary.

1. All at once, an entire flock of puffin’s landed on the balcony.
2. “Are these vial’s mine?” asked Aunt Cressida. “They’re all marked ‘deadly nightshade.’”
3. After three month’s delay, my solar melon baller finally arrived.
4. “I really think I need a new pair of glass’s,” said Otis as he stared up the flue. “I can’t see a thing!”
5. Louis’s holiday cards are always a few page’s too long.
6. Louis’s holiday scarf is always few feet too long.
7. Last night, the vole chasing team lost its’ fifth game in a row!
8. Emmaline is always careful to post her photo’s the same day that she takes them – before she forgets where she was and what she was doing.
9. Every year we buy several hundred dollar’s worth of alpaca wool to make hammocks.
10. “Careful!” warned Lucasta. “That butter knifes blade is sharp!”

QUIZ

Possessive Case Quiz and Key