Possessive apostrophes lessen some of the confusion in the complex English language. Possessive apostrophes for names indicate that someone possesses something. Unfortunately, as with most grammar rules, the possessive apostrophe includes several rules that apply to different sentence structures. Some rules concerning the use of possessive apostrophes in names are strict, while other rules allow you to choose how to use the apostrophe.

1

Insert a possessive apostrophe and add an "s" after the last letter in a name that possesses something. Add only an apostrophe if the name ends in an "s" or use both the apostrophe and the "s," as either way is correct. For example, you may write "Ross's truck" or "Ross' truck." If the name does not end in an "s" you must add both an apostrophe and an "s."

2

Place a possessive apostrophe after each compound possessive name, if whatever is being possessed is not owned or shared by the possessive names. Place an apostrophe after the last possessive name, if the possessive names share whatever is being possessed. For example, "Jack's and Jenny's shirts" indicates that Jack and Jenny own separate shirts; "Jack and Jenny's shirts" indicates that the shirts belong to both Jack and Jenny.

3

Insert an apostrophe and an "s" when the name refers to a group or family whose name does not end in an "s." If the name ends in an "s," insert only the apostrophe. For example, "The Edwards' cat" and "The Schultz's cat" are correct, while "The Edwards's cat" is not.