Students or Student’s or Students’? (Correct Possessive Explained)

When writing about “students,” we might sometimes require the possessive form. However, the possessive form isn’t all that easy, and we need to know the rules that surround it. This article will look at the possessive form of “student” and how to use it.

Students or Student’s or Students’: Which Is The Correct Possessive Form?

“Student’s” is the correct singular possessive form of “student.” We add an “‘s” to the end of the singular word to indicate that it’s the possessive form. “Students'” is also correct, but it’s the plural possessive form that takes the plural form “students” and adds an apostrophe.

Students or Student's or Students': Which Is The Correct Possessive Form?

“Student” follows many of the possessive rules we expect from words. We know that we have to add an apostrophe to most possessive cases. Similarly, most words take on an “S” in the singular possessive form to show that one subject owns an object.

The possessive forms for “student” are as follows:

SingularStudent
PluralStudents
Singular possessiveStudent’s
Plural possessiveStudents’

You can see above how similar the forms are to each other. The singular form uses “student,” and the singular possessive uses “student’s.” This makes plenty of sense when writing it in any sentence in English.

The same goes for the plural form, where “students” is our answer, and we add an apostrophe to the end of it to create “students’.”

Students

“Students” is the easiest of the forms in this article. After all, it has nothing to do with the possessive form. Instead, it’s just a plural form that refers to multiple “students” at one time.

We can use “students” to talk about more than one “student” in a sentence. There are no apostrophes present in the word, which shows that it is not a possessive form and therefore does not have any possessed objects alongside it in a sentence.

Most plural words just add an “S” to the end of the singular word, and “students” is no exception.

To help you understand how “students” works in sentences, you can refer to the following examples:

  1. The students would like to present their own findings to the board.
  2. We are students at this school, and we don’t appreciate you dropping by like this!
  3. You are one of my favorite students, but don’t tell anyone I said that!
  4. These students have worked incredibly hard to be where they are today.
  5. You are the only two students I can trust with this sensitive information.

“Students” refers to more than one “student.” However, there is no possession involved when used in this way.

Student’s

“Student’s” is the first possessive form we can talk about. It’s the singular possessive form, which is a little easier to understand.

You can use “student’s” when talking about one “student” owning an object in a sentence. That object usually comes directly after the subject of “student” in the sentence, and we highlight the possessive form with the “‘s” ending on the word “student.”

Like many possessive forms, “student’s” simply takes the singular word for “student” and adds the expected ending. The “‘s” at the end of most nouns is a great tool for helping us to identify when the possessive form is used.

  1. My student’s results are far better than anything yours have produced.
  2. The student’s presentation was corrupted before they could deliver them!
  3. The student’s goal was to achieve the highest mark by the end of the year.
  4. The student’s mother is coming to school to find out more about us.
  5. My student’s time is valuable to him!

“Student’s” works when the object comes directly after the word “student’s.” It shows the possessive form.

Students’

Sometimes, the plural possessive form isn’t all that common. However, in the case of “students’,” it’s actually more common than you might realize.

In a sentence, you can use “students'” to talk about multiple “students” owning the same object or group of objects. Since “students” are often referred to in the plural form, this is a more common possessive form that we can use.

Like most plural possessive forms, the “S” after the apostrophe is now dropped. We do this to aid with pronunciation and readability since the word “students’s” would be far too jarring and difficult to read.

The following examples will show you how the plural possessive form can work.

  1. The students’ digest is the fastest-growing news outlet in our school!
  2. The students’ hall is only ever to be occupied by our hard-working students.
  3. The students’ class is run by one of the most popular teachers in the school.
  4. All of the students’ curricula are run through administration before ever given out to anyone.
  5. The students’ goals are far more spectacular than I ever could have wished for!

“Students'” refers to multiple “students” owning the same object or group of objects in a sentence. It’s a common possessive phrase because we use “students” to talk about a large body of students rather than one singular student.

Typically, the object that follows “students'” is plural as well (unless referring to a room that multiple people can occupy simultaneously).

Quiz: Have You Mastered Students or Student’s or Students’?

Now is the time for a quick quiz to see what you’ve learned from this article. We’ll include the answers in the next section, but try your best not to look at them until you’ve given this a good go!

  1. My (A. students / B. student’s / C. students’) have achieved the highest grades in the city.
  2. The (A. students / B. student’s / C. students’) timetable is a bit cluttered, and you should do something to help him with that.
  3. All of the (A. students / B. student’s / C. students’) presentations have been sent to my email address.
  4. We have a (A. students / B. student’s / C. students’) union that I think will be of interest to you.
  5. The (A. students / B. student’s / C. students’) library card went missing.

Quiz answers

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

Final Thoughts

We can use both “student’s” and “students'” in the possessive form depending on whether we’re using the singular or plural. Remember, “student” is singular, and “student’s” is the singular possessive. Likewise, “students” is plural, and “students'” is the plural possessive.

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