The Apostrophe

Quote by DLizze
WHile we're playing with apostrophes (see what I did there?) "mothers in law" is the plural of "mother in law", but the possessive of "mother in law" is "mother in law's". The plural possessive (but if you have two mothers in law somultaneously, you are likely, in the US anyway, to be behind bars)of "mothers in law" is "mothers in law's". Incidentally in this, as with "fathers in law", hyphenation is I believe, optional. I usually do not do it, unless I feel it makes the sentence in which the phrase is used, more readable.

Quote by DLizze
WHile we're playing with apostrophes (see what I did there?) "mothers in law" is the plural of "mother in law" . . .

Quote by Scriptwriter66


I have a mother in law, and my wife has a mother in law, both of them are in the same room.

Would someone watching say there's a mother in law in the room, or would they there are two mother in laws in the room?

Quote by bethalia


For a third party in the room (which seems to be what you're asking about - that is, a person for whom neither is a mother-in-law) referring to a specific one of them, it would be best to be as exact as possible to avoid confusion: "Sam's mother-in-law is in the room." or "Rosie's mother-in-law is in the room." If that person were referring to both then the expression might be: "Sam's and Rosie's mothers-in-law are in the room." or "Two mothers-in-law are in the room."

That last example illustrates another principle of apostrophe usage: Use an apostrophe with each noun if separate ownership or relationship is appropriate. Use an apostrophe with only the trailing noun to indicate joint ownership/relationship.

In the example used there are two mothers-in-law in the room: Sam's and Rosie's. Consequently, they each have a relationship with one of the mothers-in-law referred to. So both noun's have an apostrophe: "Sam's and Rosie's mothers-in-law are in the room." The same principle applies to the ownership of a thing: "Sam's and Rosie's cars are in the garage." (Indicating that one of the cars is Sam's and the other is Rosie's).

But when joint possession or relationship is appropriate then only the trailing noun carries the apostrophe: "Sam and Rosie's son gets good grades at school." (Indicating that the son referred to is the son of both Sam and Rosie.) or "Sam and Rosie's books are in the bookcase." (Indicating that the books in the bookcase are jointly owned by Sam and Rosie.)

Most of it is just common sense.

Quote by squiffy
Someone asked a question on another thread earlier regarding apostrophes and whether or not they can be used to indicate plural form.

Well they can in some cases, but when, and only when, ambiguity arises. And it's done by adding the apostrophe after the "s" at the end of a possessive noun instead of before it. You all probably know this already, but I thought it worth pointing out. I'll show you some examples.


"The girl's tits were large and firm."

In the above sentence there is ambiguity as to whether the word "girls" is in singular or plural form.

So if we are referring to the "girls" in singular form, we place the apostrophe before the "s": "The girl's tits were large and firm."

But if we are referring to the "girls" in the plural form, we place the apostrophe after the "s": "The girls' tits were large and firm."


I'll give a couple more examples.

"The computer's hard drives are corrupt." Here we are referring to one computer with two or more hard drives.

But if we placed the apostrophe after the possessive noun, "The computers' hard drives are corrupt" we are referring to two or more computers.


"The tree's leaves are falling" Again, there is ambiguity as whether the possessive noun "trees" is in singular or plural form.

One tree: "The tree's leaves are falling"

Two or more trees: "The trees' leaves are falling"


I hope I've made myself understood, and if anybody has anything to add, please do.