's and s'

's after a person or an animal says who something belongs to or who someone is connected to. The owner comes first, then the thing.

For things, not people, use of: the name of the street, the end of the film.

Plurals

When the plural already ends in -s, add only the apostrophe ('). When it doesn't, add 's.

The student's (one student) and the students' (more than one) sound the same. Only the spelling shows the difference.

For a name that ends in -s, both James's and James' are correct.

Two owners

When two people own one thing together, put 's only on the second name.

Without a noun

You can leave out the noun when it's clear. At Sam's often means "at Sam's home". Shops and offices work the same way: at the doctor's, at the hairdresser's.

Whose

Whose asks who something belongs to. Who's sounds the same but means who is.

's with three meanings

's can mean is, has, or belonging. When a noun follows, it's belonging.

• Sam's tall. (Sam is)
• Sam's got a bike. (Sam has)
• Sam's bike is red. (the bike of Sam)

Common mistakes

• × the bag of Mia → Mia's bag
• × my parent's house (both parents) → my parents' house
• × the childrens' room → the children's room
• × Who's bag is this? → Whose bag is this?
• × Mia bag → Mia's bag