How do apostrophes work with possessive nouns on the GED?

An apostrophe is the small raised mark in a word like neighbor's. With a noun, it shows that the noun owns something, and using it correctly is one of GED's language skills.^[1] Where the apostrophe goes comes down to two questions: is there one owner or more than one, and does the owner word end in s? A plain plural takes no apostrophe, and neither does a possessive pronoun such as its or theirs.^[2][3] This post walks through the rules in order, with short examples of our own.

Where apostrophes show up on the GED

GED lists editing so that apostrophes are used correctly with possessive nouns as one of its language skills.^[1] Language questions come as a passage that needs editing, with 4 to 5 drop-down menus, and each drop-down tests one of 13 language skills.^[1] A drop-down menu is a small list of choices that you open and pick from. Our post on GED Language Arts question types shows how these questions work.

Apostrophes count in your essay too. Use of apostrophes with possessive nouns is one of the seven conventions skills listed under Trait 3 of the scoring rubric for the essay.^[4]

If apostrophes trip you up, you are not alone. GED Testing Service reports that many students use apostrophes incorrectly, including students who score high on the test overall.^[1] One common mistake GED sees is choosing an option with no apostrophe at all, such as the neighbors truck when the sentence needs the neighbor's truck.^[1] GED also notes that autocorrect on cell phones may be reinforcing wrong apostrophe habits.^[1] So do not trust the habits your phone teaches. Check each apostrophe yourself.

What a possessive noun is

A noun names a person, place or thing, like nurse, city or phone. A possessive noun shows that the noun owns something: the nurse's badge.

Where the apostrophe sits matters. GED's study guide shows that moving the apostrophe can change what a phrase means.^[5] For example:

• my sister's kids: the kids of one sister.
• my sisters' kids: the kids of two or more sisters.

The rules, in order

Rule 1: one owner, add 's

For one owner, add an apostrophe and s. This holds even when the word already ends in s.^[6]

• the nurse's badge
• my brother's apartment
• the boss's office (boss ends in s, but there is one boss, so it still gets 's)

Rule 2: more than one owner, ending in s, add only an apostrophe

When the owner is a plural that already ends in s, add only an apostrophe after the s.^[6]

• the workers' lockers (many workers)
• the two girls' bikes
• my parents' house

Rule 3: more than one owner, not ending in s, add 's

Some plurals do not end in s, such as children, women and people. For these, add an apostrophe and s, just as you would for one owner.^[6]

• the children's coats
• the women's team
• the people's vote

So it is children's, never childrens'.

Rule 4: names that end in s

Names like Marcus already end in s. A university writing lab adds an apostrophe and s (Marcus's jacket), and also accepts the apostrophe alone (Marcus' jacket).^[6] Both styles are seen.

Rule 5: two owners, shared or separate

When two people share one thing, add the possessive ending to the last name only. When each person owns something separately, make every name possessive.^[7]

• Ana and Tom's apartment: they share one apartment.
• Ana's and Tom's phones: each one has their own phone.

Rule 6: a plain plural takes no apostrophe

An apostrophe never makes a word plural. You make the word plural first, and add the possessive ending only when something is owned.^[2] GED's skill is about possessive nouns, not plain plural nouns, which need no apostrophe.^[1]

• Correct: The tomatoes are on sale.
• Wrong: The tomato's are on sale.
• Correct: We hired three new nurses. (Nothing is owned, so there is no apostrophe.)

Rule 7: possessive pronouns take no apostrophe

A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun, like it, they or you. Possessive pronouns already show ownership, so they never take an apostrophe: yours, ours, theirs, its, hers and whose.^[3]

• The blue jacket is hers.
• Is this seat yours?
• The team won its first game.

For its and it's, and whose and who's, see our post on confused words.

A quick check: the "of" test

Not sure whether a word owns something? Turn the phrase around with of.^[8]

• the neighbor's truck becomes the truck of the neighbor. The neighbor owns the truck, so the apostrophe belongs.
• the workers' lockers becomes the lockers of the workers. Now you can see the owner word is workers, a plural that ends in s, so the apostrophe goes after the s (Rule 2).

In a sentence like The workers left early, there is nothing to turn around. Nothing is owned, so workers takes no apostrophe.

The of test is only a check. You do not need to write the phrase that way in your answer or your essay.

A quick method for apostrophe questions

1. Find the owner word. Use the of test if you are not sure.
2. Count the owners. One, or more than one? Look for clues such as a number or a word like both or all.
3. Add the right ending. One owner: add 's. More than one owner: if the plural ends in s, add only an apostrophe; if not, add 's.
4. Leave plain plurals and possessive pronouns alone. They take no apostrophe.
5. Check every owner word in the sentence. Some sentences have more than one.

Practice it

Try two free practice questions on this skill: apostrophes in a school notice and singular and plural possessives. They need no sign-up, and every answer comes with feedback that explains each choice. The other free practice questions work the same way.

In your essay, apostrophes are part of Trait 3.^[4] On OpenEssayMe you can write practice essays and get feedback on each of the three traits, so you can improve your writing one essay at a time. For the full picture of the test, see our GED RLA test guide.