An apostrophe is used in a possessive form like Esthers family or Janets cigarettes and this is the use of the apostrophe which causes most of the trouble.

Names ending with s possessive apostrophe. The possessive case denotes ownership or possession. Iris cat walked in the door. Lisas essay Englands navy my brothers girlfriend Wittgensteins last book childrens shoes.

Singular common nouns ending in s are made possessive by adding an apostrophe and an s. If you are using the names of two different people in a possessive form you add the apostrophe and the s only to the second name -- Mary and Sallys red blouses. The possessive form of almost all proper names is formed by adding apostrophe and s to a singular or apostrophe alone to a plural.

This rule is just as correct as the older traditional rule of basing on pronunciation which is s. Per APA Style the answer is that the possessive of a singular name is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s even when the name ends in s see p. This means that you will not know whether a thing belongs to 1 or numerous groups until you will see the sentence itself.

Williams Williamss Descartes Descartess Russ Russs etc. When it comes to forming the possessive of a proper name that ends in s guides disagree. For good examples check this out.

Relevant examples Jacks Jamess the Davises Burnss Marxs Schultzs Dickenss Adamss Schultzes. Also you use s in showing possession of the singular noun even that word is ending with the letter s. A possessive form is spelled with s at the end.

Apostrophes with Words Ending in s While normal people wonder about apostrophes in general believe it or not word nerds have heated arguments over whether to use an additional s with singular possession. If the name is only one syllable add -s. Use apostrophe plus S with all proper nouns ie.