Princesses or Princess’s or Princess’? (Correct Possessive Explained)

The possessive form of “princess” changes depending on how many “princesses” we’re talking about. However, it’s not as complicated as some other possessive form rules might be, and this article will explore what you can do when using “princess” in the possessive form.

Princesses or Princess’s or Princess’: Which Is The Correct Possessive Form?

“Princess’s” is the correct possessive form of “princess” in most cases. We include the “S” after the apostrophe when adding an object after the word. However, “princess'” works when the word that follows “princess'” begins with an “S” as well.

To help you understand the main points we’re going to cover in this article, you can refer to the following:

Singular	Princess
Plural	Princesses
Singular possessive	Princess’s
Plural possessive	Princesses’

The singular and singular possessive follow the typical rules. To create the possessive form, we include an “‘s” to the end of “princess” when the “princess” owns an object in the sentence.

Likewise, the plural form is “princesses,” meaning we can’t add an “‘s” in the plural possessive form because there will be too many “S” letters. Instead, we drop the “S” after the apostrophe, but the plural possessive works in the same way.

Princesses

We’ll start with the plural form. It’s by far the easiest of the three to use since no possessive articles or objects are needed.

“Princesses” refers to more than one “princess” in a sentence. However, the “princess” does not own any objects. Instead, they are being spoken about by somebody else to talk about the number of them.

We can show you how the plural form looks by the following:

1. The princesses are coming to the kingdom in just a few moments!
2. Where are the princesses? They’re supposed to be here for the ball.
3. I need at least three princesses to come to this party.
4. I’d like us to dress up like princesses tomorrow!
5. We should all become princesses after finding our Prince Charming!

“Princesses” refers to more than one “princess,” and that’s it. There are no extra rules used here. The possessive isn’t required, and we’re simply talking about a larger group of people.

Princess’s

Now, let’s look closer at the first possessive form.

“Princess’s” is the singular possessive form. We use this to talk about a “princess” owning an object in a sentence. However, if the object begins with an “S,” we will use “Princess'” instead.

Both spellings are correct depending entirely on the word that comes after them. For example:

• Princess’s castle
• Princess’ steed

As you can see, without the “S” to start the object, “princess’s” is maintained. However, if the object (or the word after “princess’s”) begins with “S,” we must always remember to drop the “S” after the apostrophe.

We do this to aid with reading comprehension. It’s much easier to pronounce words when you’re not overwhelmed by a great number of “S” letters at the end.

Here are some examples to have a look at:

1. The princess’s castle should be on the other side of this mountain.
2. Where is the princess’ stallion? We need to find him before she gets back
3. The princess’s husband is not yet the prince of this land.
4. We have the princess’s location in our tracker!
5. You are the princess’ sister, so you must know where she is.

“Princess’s” and “princess'” both work when talking about one “princess” owning an object in a sentence. We can use them when talking about what the “princess” owns.

Princesses’

“Princesses'” follows much the same rules. The only difference is we’re now working in the plural form.

“Princesses'” is the plural possessive form. We use this when referring to multiple “princesses” owning one or a group of objects in a sentence. We always drop the “S” after the apostrophe in this form, no matter what word comes after it.

The key difference with the plural possessive form is that the “S” is never present. No matter what letter the next word starts with, you will never see the following:

• Princesses’s

Again, we avoid this because the number of “S” letters in the above word is too difficult to pronounce. It would confuse most readers (try it yourself to see if you can do it).

Instead, we leave the “S” out. The following examples will demonstrate the correct (and incorrect) forms of the plural possessive we can use:

• Correct: The princesses’ castles are all the same size, but they always complain about that!
• Incorrect: Our princesses’s desires outweigh those of the ones from your kingdom.
• Correct: The three princesses’ husbands are all as eloquent and well-spoken as the rest of the royalty.
• Incorrect: The princesses’s deeds have not gone unnoticed by the general population.
• Correct: Three princesses’ steeds were brought to the stables in the early morning without them riding.
• Incorrect: The princesses’s lists have been listed in the journal over there.

“Princesses'” refers to multiple “Princesses” owning an object or group of objects. It’s common for the object that follows “princesses'” to be in the plural form when it’s a group to show that multiple things are owned by multiple people.

Quiz: Have You Mastered Princesses or Princess’s or Princess’?

A quiz might help you to understand a little more about the acceptable possessive forms. We’ll include the answers in the next section, but try your best to figure them out before peeking!

1. The (A. princesses / B. princess’s / C. princess’) sword is on the mantlepiece.
2. My (A. princesses / B. princess’s / C. princess’) sacrifice will not be in vain.
3. A (A. princesses / B. princess’s / C. princesses’) love is her best weapon.
4. There are too many (A. princesses / B. princess’s / C. princess’) to handle!
5. We haven’t got any of the (A. princesses / B. princess’s / C. princesses’) demands with us!

Quiz answers

1. C
2. C
3. B
4. A
5. C

Final Thoughts

“Princess’s” is the correct singular possessive form, while “princesses'” is the correct plural possessive form. Remember, though; we can also use “princess'” when the starting letter of the next word is an “S,” so there are technically two correct singular possessive forms.

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