Possessives Wikipedia:Manual of Style

1 possessives

1.1 singular nouns
1.2 plural nouns
1.3 official names

possessives



mos:poss



singular nouns

for possessive of singular nouns, including proper names , words ending double-s or silent s, add s (my daughter s achievement, niece s wedding, cortez s men, boss s office, glass s books, illinois s largest employer, descartes s philosophy, verreaux s eagle). exception: abstract nouns ending /s/ sound, when followed sake (for goodness sake, conscience sake).
for possessive of singular nouns ending 1 s (sounded /s/ or /z/), there 2 practices advised different grammar , style guides:




apply 1 of these 2 practices consistently within article. if second practice used , there disagreement on pronunciation of possessive, choice should discussed , possessive adopted consistently in article. (possessives of classical , biblical names have traditional pronunciations may deemed take precedence: jesus answer , xerxes expeditions, zeus s anger; , in cases—particularly possessives of inanimate objects—rewording may option: location of vilnius, old bus route, moons of mars.)

plural nouns



mos:pluralnoun



for normal plural noun, ending pronounced s, form possessive adding apostrophe (my sons wives, nieces weddings).
for plural noun not ending pronounced s, add s (women s careers, people s habits, mice s whiskers; 2 dumas s careers controversial, rewording option, may better: career of each dumas controversial).

official names

official names (of companies, organizations, or places) should not altered. (st thomas hospital should therefore not rendered st thomas s hospital or st. thomas hospital, consistency.)