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In possessives, the placement of the apostrophe depends on whether the noun that shows possession is singular or plural. Generally, if the noun is singular, the apostrophe goes before the s. The witch's broom. If the noun is plural, the apostrophe goes after the s: The witches' brooms. However, if the word is pluralized without an s, the apostrophe comes before the s: He entered the men's room with an armload of children's clothing. If you create a possessive with a phrase like of the witches, you will use no apostrophe: the brooms of the witches.
There is no such thing as a possessive noun.
The real question should be : What is the possessive form of a noun? How do you show possession (ownership) relating to some noun?
To express possession (ownership) in English one appends an apostrophe (') followed by s. To append is to put at the end. The nose of the moose can be expressed as the moose's nose.
The rule is straightforward. When the noun to which the ownership refers is in the plural, the rule can be applied as stated above append ('s). However if the mark of the plural is s (regular plural) some people want to use the rule above, some others say that the last s should not be appended..
Example: The hind legs of the wolves can be expressed as the wolves's hind legs or the wolves' hind legs. In the first expression you have wolves's while in the second you have wolves'.
Both rules are correct, but nowadays the tendency is to use the second form. It is a matter of usage.
If you are a student follow what your teacher says. When you write your own books, choose the one you want, but if your editor insists on using the other one, you have a problem.
To express possession (ownership) in English one appends an apostrophe (') followed by s The nose of the moose can be expressed as the moose's nose.
The rule is straightforward. When the noun to which the ownership refers to is the plural, the rule can be applied as stated above append ('s). However if the mark of the plural is s (regular plural) some people want to use the rule above, some others say that the last s should not be written.
Example: The hind legs of the wolves can be expressed as the wolves's hind legs or the wolves' hind legs. In the first expression you have wolves's while in the second you have wolves'.
Both rules are correct, but nowadays the tendency is to use the second form. It is a matter of usage.
If you are a student follow what your teacher says. When you write your own books, choose the one you want, but if your editor insists on using the other one, you have a problem.
Inflection is used to indicate a) number, b) case or c) gender in nouns, verbs and other parts of speech. The result is that a word will often become slightly altered, or letters are added to it, in order to show that a shift (in number, case or gender) has taken place.
It is found in many languages of the world, especially common in European languages, including Old English, but less commonly found in Modern English.
Concerning NOUNS
Examples:
a) To indicate number (singular vs plural): goose / geese; ox / oxen; child / children; medium / media; book / books; alumna / alumnae, etc.
Sometimes the form stays the same however: deer / deer; sheep / sheep, etc.
b) To indicate case:
In English: possession or "genitive case": Paul / Paul's (of Paul); dog / dog's (of the dog), etc.
In German: possession or "genitive case": Mann (man) / Mannes (of the man) - Der Hund des Mannes (The man's dog).
Also in words like Tuesday [Tu's Day]; Wednesday [Weden's Day --> Wodan's Day]; Thursday [Thur's Day --> Thor's Day], etc.
c) To indicate gender:
Often found in words borrowed from other languages:
alumnus (male) / alumna (female); alumni (male plural) / alumnae (female plural), etc.
Even in names: Marc / Marcia; Andrew / Andrea; George / Georgia, etc.
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