Which form is the correct plural possessive of 'the girls' hats'?

Which form is the correct plural possessive of 'the girls' hats'?

• A. Girls'
• B. Girls's
• C. Girlss
• D. Girlses

Answer: (A)

When a plural noun ends in s, form the possessive by adding only an apostrophe after the s. Here, the plural girls already ends with s, so to show ownership of the hats you write girls' hats. That places the possessive marker after the final s, signaling that the hats belong to the girls. The other forms go wrong because they either try to add another s (Girls's), or splice in extra letters (Girlss, Girlses), which aren’t standard for regular plural possessives.

When a plural noun ends in s, form the possessive by adding only an apostrophe after the s. Here, the plural girls already ends with s, so to show ownership of the hats you write girls' hats. That places the possessive marker after the final s, signaling that the hats belong to the girls.

The other forms go wrong because they either try to add another s (Girls's), or splice in extra letters (Girlss, Girlses), which aren’t standard for regular plural possessives.