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When do we use an apostrophe followed by the letter "S," and when do we use just the letter "S" after a word?

Great question! This rule of grammar is one that stumps many people, so I am glad you've asked. The difference between apostrophe+S ('s) and just the letter S is a matter of the meaning you are trying to convey. The apostrophe+S form is possessive, meaning that it describes ownership of something. The S only form is a pluralization, meaning there is more than one of something.


Let's take a look at an example. I'll use similar sentences to describe the possessive form, the plural form, and the possessive plural form!


"The cat's meow."


In the above statement, I have used the possessive form of apostrophe+S. A great way to figure out whether or not to use the possessive apostrophe+S is to think about whether there is a relationship of ownership going on. In this case, the meow doesn't really "belong" to the cat in the sense that the cat owns an object, but the cat is responsible for the meow. Typically, the word which may be altered by the addition of an apostrophe+S is followed by whatever it owns. As another example, "John's sandwich," or, "The whale's fins."


In some cases, people will use the apostrophe+S form as a contraction. More often, we do this as a natural pattern of speech. For example, the phrase, "The sky's the limit." This does not imply that the limit belongs to the sky, it is simply how the sounds of "sky" and "is" run together. When writing, it is more correct to not use this contraction, unless you're writing dialogue and that is how a speaker would say something.


Now, we'll look at the plural form! 


"The cats meow."


I have purposefully used the same phrase as above to demonstrate the difference between the possessive and plural forms. In this case, we are looking at the plural form. Notice how there is no apostrophe in the word, "cats." When we add just an S to the end of a word, it makes a plural. In this example, there is more than one cat, and they are meowing. 


It is possible to combine the possessive and plural forms, and this can be even more tricky! Look at the following example:


"The cats' meow."


Notice how the apostrophe follows the letter S. In this case, there is more than one cat, and we are talking about the collective meow which belongs to the cats. You would use this form when talking about more than one person or thing, which are in ownership of something else. For more examples, please click this link. 

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