1 The plural of
a compound noun is formed by adding‘s’ to the principal word:
Singular Plural
Sister-in-law Sisters-in-law
Passer-by Passers-by
Commander-in-chief
Commanders-in-chief
2(a) The
possessive case of a noun is formed by adding‘s’: Boy’s book, Shade’s pen, etc.
(b) But ‘s’ is
used only for living things. For non-living things, we use ‘of’:
Wrong: The telephone’s
cable is damaged.
Right: The cable
of the telephone is damaged.
Wrong: The
child broke the table’s leg.
Right: The
child broke the leg of the table.
(c) When a
plural noun ends in ‘s’, the possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe after
‘s’. However, when the plural does not end in ‘s’, apostrophe ‘s’ is added as
it is:
Boys’ hostel;
Girls’ hostel; but Men’s club.
3. When two
nouns show common possession, ‘s’ is added to the last one:
Wale and
Martin’s grammar
can be very useful to you.
(This means one
grammar book written by two persons)
Note: When two
nouns indicate separate possessions, ‘s is added to both of them:
Tilewa’s and
Sesan’s grammars
can be helpful to you.
4. ‘One of” or
‘any of’ are always followed by plural words:
One of my
friends is
going abroad.
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