As a linguistic expert, I specialize in the intricacies of language, including grammar, syntax, and the subtleties of punctuation. One such subtlety is the use of the apostrophe in the English language, particularly in the context of plural nouns and possessives.

The question at hand is whether an apostrophe is used in the word "children's." To address this, we need to understand the two primary functions of the apostrophe in English: to indicate possession or to form the possessive case, and to denote the omission of letters, typically in contractions.

In the case of regular plural nouns, the possessive form is created by adding an apostrophe followed by the letter "s" ('s). For example, "The dogs' toys are scattered around the yard." Here, the apostrophe 's indicates that the toys belong to the dogs.

However, when it comes to irregular plural nouns, such as "children" or "women," the situation is slightly different. These words do not end in "s" in their singular form and thus, when forming the possessive, we still add an apostrophe followed by "s" to maintain consistency with the rule for regular plurals. For instance, "The children's playground is closed for repairs." In this sentence, "children's" indicates that the playground belongs to the children.

The reference material provided suggests that an apostrophe 's is added to irregular plural nouns like "children" or "women" to form the possessive, which is correct. This rule applies to all plural nouns, whether they are regular or irregular, to denote possession.

It is important to note that the use of an apostrophe in possessives can sometimes lead to confusion, especially when the plural form of a noun does not end in "s." For example, "The geese's migration is in the fall" might seem incorrect because "geese" is the plural form of "goose" and does not end in "s." However, because "geese" is a plural noun, the possessive form is still "geese's."

In summary, the use of an apostrophe in "children's" is correct and follows the standard rules of English grammar for forming the possessive case of plural nouns, whether they are regular or irregular.

read more >>

Otherwise, if the plural noun is irregular, like 'children' or 'women', you add apostrophe s ('s), as you would for singular nouns: 'The children's party was cancelled because so many were away on holiday.'read more >>