Company’s or Companies? (Correct Possessive Form)

The possessive form can be tricky when working with certain nouns. Luckily, this article will come to the rescue and help you figure out the correct possessive form for the noun “company.” We’ll include both singular and plural forms to clue you in.

Company’s or Companies: Which Is the Correct Possessive Form?

“Company’s” is correct as the possessive form. You should use “company’s” as the singular possessive form to show that one company owns an object. “Companies'” is the plural possessive, but it’s only correct with an apostrophe at the end. “Companies” is only the plural form.

Company's or Companies

This table should make things a little clearer for you:

Singular Company
Plural Companies
Singular possessive Company’s
Plural possessive Companies’

Figuring out the possessive form is easy once you know the singular and plural forms of a noun.

Take the singular possessive form, for example. You simply take the singular form (company) and include an apostrophe and an “s” at the end. This turns it into the singular possessive form to show that one company owns an object.

The plural possessive form is slightly different. You only need to add an apostrophe to the end of the plural form (companies) because it already ends with an “s.”

Companies

“Companies” is the most basic form you can use. It is the plural form and has no possession involved with it. You should only use it when you want to refer to multiple companies within a sentence.

You do not have to worry about apostrophes or anything of the sort when using the plural form.

It’s a slightly irregular form, though. Since “company” ends with “y,” you need to remove that letter and replace it with a “-ies” when creating the plural form. This is standard practice across most nouns ending with “y.”

Here are some examples to show you how to use “companies” in a sentence:

  • I went to see different companies to learn more about this. I’m not sure any of them helped me, though.
  • I wanted to talk to the companies to see which would fit me best. I still haven’t decided, to be honest.
  • It’s hard to find the right companies for the job. My only hope is that things start to pick up in the future.
  • Too many companies rejected the offer at first glance. That’s why it’s been removed from the program.
  • I’m not sure that these companies have their employees’ best interests at heart. I think we need to report them.

Company’s

You should use “company’s” when referring to a single company. It is the singular possessive form, meaning that one company owns an object or group of objects in a sentence.

You should use it like this:

  • The company’s employees

This refers to a singular “company” owning “employees” (the object). This is a great way to demonstrate the possessive form, where the object comes directly after the noun.

These examples will demonstrate how to use “company’s” in a sentence:

  • The company’s lack of empathy is the reason I’m leaving. It seems like nobody cares what goes on in our lives.
  • I earned the company’s trust after a few years. It doesn’t take long to figure out that their trust is worth nothing.
  • What can I do with the company’s accounts, though? I can’t seem to find anything that’ll work for me here.
  • You have the company’s address, right? We need to get through to them as soon as possible to sort out this problem.
  • I met the company’s director, and he wasn’t happy about the situation. You should talk to him when you get a chance.

Companies’

“Companies'” is the plural possessive form. It is appropriate when referring to multiple companies owning an object. It comes from the plural form “companies,” where you are trying to show that many “companies” own one group of objects.

It’s not quite the same as the singular possessive form.

For example, this sentence comes with a different meaning from the one covered above:

  • The companies’ employees

Here, you are referring to multiple “companies.” Each company has a group of “employees,” and all of those employees are grouped in the plural possessive form to show that all of the companies own them.

Here are some examples to show you how to use “companies'” in a sentence:

  • I’m not going to see all of the companies’ reports, am I? I feel like some things have to be overlooked.
  • Those companies’ employees are all over the place. They don’t seem to care much about what they get up to.
  • Many of the companies’ findings were falsified, and we need to figure out which companies faked the most documentation.
  • I told you about all of the companies’ meetings outside of working hours. I think we should bring that up with them.
  • Those companies’ trust is only as strong as the employees that work for them. You need to get to the bottom of these findings.

Companys’

“Companys'” is an incorrect version of the plural possessive noun. It is never correct to use “companys’.” Most people use it when they don’t understand the rules behind the plural possessive form.

Remember, to use the plural possessive form; you have to start with the plural noun. “Companys” is not the plural form of “company.” You must remove the “y” and replace it with an “-ies” ending. “Companies” is the correct form.

These examples will help you remember the correct forms to use:

  • Correct: I did not want to talk to the company’s manager because he didn’t seem interesting enough.
  • Incorrect: The companys’ reports have been handed in. Do you see anything in them that we could use?
  • Correct: I needed those companies’ briefs before the morning meeting started. Now, I don’t know what to say.
  • Incorrect: I found many of the companys’ employees to be unhappy with the situation. Can you help them?

Final Thoughts

“Company’s” is the singular possessive form. You can take it from the singular form “company” (and add an “‘s” to the end of it). “Companies'” is the plural possessive form. It comes from the plural form “companies” (with an added apostrophe). No other form is correct to use.