An apostrophe can be used to show that one thing belongs to or is connected to something. This is called a possessive apostrophe. We add ‘s to singular nouns to show possession.
Examples
The elephant’s trunk (Elefantens snabel)
The girl’s pencil (Flickans penna)
The horse’s back (Hästens rygg)
The woman’s book (Kvinnans bok)
The child’s mother (Barnets mor)
The policeman’s uniform (Polisens uniform)
We add ’ to plural nouns ending in -s to show possession.
Examples
The elephants’ trunks (Elefanternas snablar)
The girls’ pencils (Flickornas pennor)
The horses’ backs (Hästarnas ryggar)
We use ‘s with irregular plural nouns.
Examples
The men’s wives (Männens fruar)
The women’s books (Kvinnornas böcker)
The children’s mothers (Barnens mödrar)
Important
An apostrophe is never used to form the plurals of words such as potatoes or tomatoes.
Functions of the Possessive
Ownership is the most common relationship the possessive expresses: Peter’s car.
The possessive can also express where someone works, studies, or spends time: This is Peter’s school.
The possessive can express a relationship between people: Peter’s mother.
There are also some fixed expressions where the possessive form is used: a day’s work, a month’s pay.
Where is the apostrophe button on the keyboard?
Below, you can see where the apostrophe button is located on the keyboard (click on the image for a full-size image):
