Explore state by state cost analysis of US colleges in an interactive article

How to Use Apostrophes in Plural Nouns for Correct Spelling

Advantages & Disadvantages of GTM in TEFL
May 10, 2019
2 minute read

Plural nouns generally take an extra First of all, a noun is simply a person, place, or thing--a dog.

Plural nouns indicate more than one person, place, or thing--two dogs.

PLURAL NOUNS

Nouns can be singular or plural. Usually to make a word plural, we simply add the letter s.

Some singular nouns follow: boy, rabbit, street, TV, chimp, diaper, and brick.

Those same nouns when plural follow: boys, rabbits, streets, TVs, chimps, diapers, and bricks.

POSSESSIVE NOUNS

Some people in relationships are possessive. That's no way to live and besides, that's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about possessive nouns in the English language.

The possessive nouns described here are not plural.

Advertisement

Possessive simply means the noun (the person, place, or thing) has something or owns something. Like this:

The woman owns a purse and it's red.

To rephrase this sentence so it's not quite so awkward:

The woman's purse is red.

Add an apostrophe and the letter s to make the singular noun (woman) possessive (woman's).

PLURAL POSSESSIVE NOUNS

Plural nouns, remember, are simply nouns that indicate more than one, such as boys. Sometimes a plural noun owns or possesses something.

The boys' caps blew off in the wind.

The word boys is all ready plural so add an apostrophe after the letter s to make the plural noun (boys) possessive. You can also add an apostrophe and another letter s to make boys's.

Another example: We are always losing our TVs' remote controls in the couch and under the bed.

To break it down: We have two TVs (TVs is a plural noun) and both remote controls get lost. Our TVs' remote controls (plural possessive noun) are both black..

Again, an alternative is to add the apostrophe after the letter s and add another letter s to spell TVs's.

Tip

For correct spelling, nouns, when they are made plural, do NOT need an apostrophe before the letter s. The letter s alone makes the noun plural. An apostrophe shows possession.

Tips

For correct spelling, nouns, when they are made plural, do NOT need an apostrophe before the letter s. The letter s alone makes the noun plural.

An apostrophe shows possession.

Sponsored
The Classroom Logo

The Classroom provides honest, relatable, step-by-step guidance for high schoolers applying to college and first-time undergraduate students.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.