Plural Possessive: Regular and Irregular Plurals
Add only an apostrophe to regular plurals ending in -s (the students' books) and 's to irregular plurals that don't end in -s (the children's playground, the women's team) — 10 exercises.
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The ___ books are all on the table. (several students)
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students'
A plural noun ending in -s takes only an apostrophe — the students' books.
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The ___ playground is behind the school. (the children)
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children's
'Children' is an irregular plural, so it takes 's — the children's playground.
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This is the ___ changing room. (the women)
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women's
'Women' is an irregular plural, so it takes 's — the women's changing room.
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My ___ house has a large garden. (my parents)
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parents'
A plural noun ending in -s takes only an apostrophe — my parents' house.
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The ___ toys are all over the floor. (the babies)
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babies'
The plural of 'baby' is 'babies'; the plural possessive takes only an apostrophe — the babies' toys.
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The ___ uniforms are bright blue. (the players)
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players'
A plural noun ending in -s takes only an apostrophe — the players' uniforms.
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The ___ department is on the third floor. (the men)
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men's
'Men' is an irregular plural, so it takes 's — the men's department.
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The ___ meeting starts at nine o'clock. (the teachers)
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teachers'
A plural noun ending in -s takes only an apostrophe — the teachers' meeting.
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It was ___ choice to elect a new leader. (the people)
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the people's
'People' is an irregular plural, so it takes 's — the people's choice.
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The ___ flat is right next to the park. (the two sisters)
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two sisters'
A plural noun ending in -s takes only an apostrophe — the two sisters' flat.
Plural Possessive: Regular and Irregular Plurals
Forming the possessive of a plural noun depends entirely on whether the plural already ends in -s. Regular plurals — students, parents, teachers, players — already end in -s, so the possessive adds only an apostrophe after it: students' books, parents' house, teachers' meeting. Irregular plurals that do not end in -s — children, women, men, people — behave like singular nouns and take a full 's: children's playground, women's changing room, men's department, the people's choice. The underlying rule is the same two-step test used for every English possessive: form the plural first, then check whether it ends in -s. If it does, add only an apostrophe. If it doesn't, add 's — exactly as with a singular noun.
Regular Plurals Ending in -s → Apostrophe Only
My parents' house has a large garden.
The players' uniforms are bright blue.
The teachers' meeting starts at nine o'clock.
The babies' toys are all over the floor. (baby → babies)
The two sisters' flat is right next to the park.
Irregular Plurals Not Ending in -s → Add 's
This is the women's changing room.
The men's department is on the third floor.
It was the people's choice to elect a new leader.
Why the Rule Feels Inconsistent
The apparent inconsistency — sometimes just an apostrophe, sometimes 's — disappears once the plural form is treated as the starting point rather than the singular. 'Baby' looks like it should take an apostrophe alone in the plural because it resembles other regular nouns, but its plural 'babies' already ends in -s, so only an apostrophe is added. 'Child' has no -s in its plural 'children' at all, so it takes a full 's, exactly like a singular noun would.
Common Mistakes
✗ The childrens' playground is behind the school. → ✓ The children's playground is behind the school.
✗ This is the womens' changing room. → ✓ This is the women's changing room.
✗ The baby's toys are all over the floor. (several babies) → ✓ The babies' toys are all over the floor.
✗ It was the peoples' choice. → ✓ It was the people's choice.
Last updated: · Satori Editorial