⚡ Quick summary
The words students’ and student’s are both used to show possession. The word student’s is a singular possessive (as in one student’s book), while students’ is a plural possessive (as in many students’ books).
The words students’ and student’s both express the idea that something belongs to someone. But which word is the right one to use?
In this article, we’ll teach the difference between the words students’ and student’s and provide example sentences that show how we typically use both words.
Should you use students’ or student’s?
In English grammar, we typically add an apostrophe (’) or an apostrophe and an s (’s) to the end of a noun to indicate possession. For most regular nouns, a singular noun is made possessive by adding ’s to the end of it, while a plural noun is made possessive by adding just an apostrophe to the end of it.
The word student’s is a singular possessive noun that refers to one student.
For example:
- A student’s backpack was found in the basement.
- No matter how many times the students are reminded to take their jackets with them, one student’s jacket always remains behind.
The word students’ is a plural possessive noun that refers to more than one student.
For example:
- The teacher graded all of his students’ exams.
- The students’ lunchroom is located on the first floor, while the teachers’ lunchroom is located on the second floor.
If a sentence only refers to a single student, we use the word student’s. If a sentence refers to more than one student, we use the word students’. It is important to use the correct word because the same sentence can change meaning depending on which word is used.
For example:
- The student’s lunch is on the table. (referring to the lunch of one student)
- The students’ lunch is on the table. (referring to the lunch of more than one student)
Examples of students’ and student’s used in a sentence
To test what we have learned, let’s examine how we typically use the words student’s and students’ in sentences.
- I found a student’s math book in the grass.
- The students’ uniforms were blue and white.
- The delinquent student’s name was spray painted in huge letters across the sixth-grade students’ lockers.
