Nouns: Nouns #17: Possessives (#1)

Make most singular nouns possessive by adding 's:

John's car / the boy's room / my friend's father

If a singular noun ends in s or ss, it's acceptable
to add 's, but many people feel that adding only
an apostrophe looks better and is clearer:

Dennis' car / Russ' room / Bess' father

For plural nouns that end in s, add only
an apostrophe:

the boys' room / his parents' jobs /
the students' opinions

For common words with irregular plurals, 
add 's:

the children's toys / women's basketball /
men's clothing

Singular possessives with ' are still pronounced as if
they had 's:

Dennis' = 'Dennisuz' / Russ' = 'Russuz' /
Bess' = 'Bessuz.'

Writing 's or ' can change meanings:

the boys' room = the room belonging to two or more
boys, but the boy's room = the room belonging to only
one boy.

The combination ___'s can also mean ___ is or
___ has. To know which meaning is intended, look at
the words which follow 's:

Mary's father = possessive

Mary's intelligent = is

Mary's been absent many times = has.