Use Apostrophes to Show Possession

Possessives are a grammatical form that indicate ownership or belonging:

my parents’ house

my mother’s mother

Use an apostrophe plus s to form the possessive of a singular noun or a plural noun that does not end in s:

Hillel’s questions

children’s memories

Many writers prefer to add an apostrophe plus s to form the possessive of a singular noun ending in s, although the final s is not strictly required. Ask your instructor how to handle these words or, if you are writing for a particular publication, such as a newspaper or journal, look at how the publication handles possessives:

the class’s assignment

Use only an apostrophe to form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in s:

bloggers points of view

Americans attitudes