Masters Student or Master’s Student? Here’s The Correct Possessive

Possessive words have always been a cause for confusion in English, and it’s no different when you look at “master’s student.” It should seem simple on paper, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to mix it up and accidentally forget the apostrophe when you’re trying to write about them.

Masters Student Or Master’s Student – Which Is Grammatically Correct?

Master’s student is correct because it shows enrollment in the Master’s program, which is the whole point of being a Master’s student. You need to use it in the possessive form to show that you (or the student) are enrolled. Masters student is wrong since you’re using the plural of “master” and not the possessive form. Masters’ student is wrong because it’s showing plural ownership, even though it’s talking about one person.

Which Rule Is Applied On The Masters Student Or Master’s Student Grammar Question?

We apply the possessive singular rule when we’re talking about master’s students. We will only ever talk about them in this manner because it’s supposed to show that they’ve entered the Master’s program. There is no other way to talk about them. It’s easy to get the rules confused, though, because many people confuse plurals with possessive and get the apostrophe either round the wrong way or forget about them completely.

If we say “masters student,” then the “master” would imply there’s multiple “masters” present, although there aren’t any. We’re talking about a student enrolled in a program, so the term “masters” as plural is irrelevant. The same goes for “masters'” student, where it’s both the plural and the possessive form. Again, there aren’t multiple masters in question, just one student, and the “masters” aren’t the enrollment owners, either.

Examples Of Masters Student, Master’s Student And Masters’ Student

Now that we’ve understood the rules, it’s time to look at some examples. Examples are some of the best ways to pick up new language skills and understand how you should write them in a practical sense. It helps to understand before you try and write the words yourself, as you’ll often remember how it is written. However, we’ll also include incorrect sentences so you can see when the plural form is used (and the sentence is grammatically incorrect).

Correct:I am a master’s student.

Incorrect:I am a masters student.

Correct:She was a master’s student last year.

Incorrect:He is not a masters student.

Correct:A first year master’s student shouldn’t know these things.

Incorrect:As a second year masters’ student, you should know better.

Correct:Why can’t I find a master’s student to help?

Incorrect:This masters student thinks he knows everything.

Correct:You have to be really smart to be a master’s student.

Incorrect:I could never be a masters’ student.

Have a look at the bold usage of both the correct and incorrect forms. Maybe you played along and tried to get which ones were right and which were wrong. No problem if you didn’t! It’s just a bit of fun. However, it’s important to note that in each case, the “master’s student” is the only correct form, while the other incorrect forms are “masters student” and “masters’ student.”

Other Common Mistakes Where The Same Grammatical Rule Applies

If you’ve found yourself making these mistakes before, you’re not alone. It’s one of the more common grammatical mistakes that people forget about or simply haven’t learned well enough yet. The differences between plural forms and possessive forms are difficult to decipher, but you’ll get there with a bit of practice.

Some other common mistakes include people talking about ownership in other senses. If we were to say “the dog’s house,” that would make sense because we’re using the “dog” in the possessive form. However, some people will write “the dogs house” or “the dogs’ house,” which is incorrect. The first one is incorrect because it’s the plural form. The second is incorrect unless you’re talking about multiple dogs owning the same house.

These grammatical rules crop up everywhere if you look closely enough. The quicker you can get used to the apostrophe and when it should (and shouldn’t) be used, the better off you’ll be. If you get away with never making a mistake with an apostrophe, people will think you’re a born natural at the language!

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