10 Points About Possessives

by Mark Nichol

Writers are often challenged by the details of producing singular and possessive forms, but dealing with less common possessive variations can be downright vexing. Here are guidelines about additional possessive constructions.

1. Absolute Possessives
His, hers, its, theirs, ours, mine, and yours, which are termed absolute possessives because, unlike their simple possessive versions (for example, their and my), they require no subsequent noun, should never be followed by an apostrophe. (Note that his and its, which can precede a noun or noun phrase or can stand alone, do not change form depending on whether they are simple or absolute possessives.)