What are possessive plurals?

A plural noun is a Word for two or more people, places, or thing. Plural possessives are plural nouns that indicate ownership or possession, and origin or purpose.

Possessives are formed by adding an apostrophe s ('s) to the end of singular nouns.

Plural possessives are formed by adding an apostrophe (') to the end of a plural noun that already ends with an s, or an apostrophe s ('s) to the end of plural nouns that do not end with an s. Examples:

Plural possessive nouns indicating ownership or possession.

the covers of the books = the books' covers

the books of classes = the classes' books

the dog of the Howards = the Howards' dog

the houses of the neighbors = the neighbors' houses

Plural possessive nouns indicating origin or purpose.

children's shoes; not shoes belonging to children, shoes intended for children

the ladies' room; the room isn't owned by a group of women, it's a room intended for their use

the countries' summit; a meeting initiated by a number of countries

the astronauts' mission; the job of the astronauts