Employees’ v/s Employee’s what the correct word is?
Most importantly, both the words are correct but have different meanings. But now, there might be some questions related to what you just saw. Yes, exactly you got it. The apostrophe is before and after an ‘s’. How to answer the question ending with an apostrophe “s” and “s” apostrophe? Why do we use “s” apostrophe? Does it hold any other meaning? Are they different or the same in meaning? And many more questions you get blundered with when you see such words. It often happens that you get confused and stuck, especially in some questions. Some people ignore this and think of it as a ‘misprint.’ But the reality is a little different. In this blog, a clear explanation for the topic- Employee’s or Employees’ what is correct?
Nowadays, people don’t generally make time and understand the concept behind every little thing. Especially when it comes to grammar, your teacher might have taught you never to use high vocabulary words in an essay. Because they know that once you read or see a different word, you think it should be used somewhere to make your writing skills look more appealing, maybe for just bragging off your skills. But it might leave a negative impact on the examiner.
These are some very ignoring mistakes we make in our daily lives. Actually, a common mistake. Because we never try to understand the reason behind the rules and the concept. And the main reason behind people neglecting such stuff is because it doesn’t matter how you write or say something as long as your message gets across. So these are the things that people neglect. This is called the power of typos which can make you seem less intelligent or ignorant. There’s a saying that “Nothing can make you lose credibility more quickly and seem uneducated than a spelling mistake.”
Let’s get straight to make it simple and easy to understand so that you don’t mistake again reading these types of words.
Apostrophe “s” (‘s) is used for singular things, whereas “s” Apostrophe (s’) is used for plural things. Unfortunately, this information is not that clear and concise to help you understand the real meaning behind both. Before going into depth, let’s clear another stage of hidden meaning behind these apostrophes: a Possessive noun.
A possessive noun is a noun that means ownership or something that belongs to the noun. In simple words the owner of the thing. Adding to this, the basic possessive noun is by apostrophe “s” (‘s) if Singular and “s” Apostrophe (s’) if Plural.
Here again, all the Plural nouns are not to be considered under (s’) because there are two types of Plural nouns, namely, Regular and Irregular.
- Regular Plural Noun uses an apostrophe after the “s” (s’)
- Irregular Plural Noun uses an apostrophe before the “s” (‘s).
Some examples of Regular Plural Nouns are:
- Dog – Dogs
- Friend – Friends
- Cow – Cows
Similarly, some examples of Irregular Plural Nouns are:
- Tooth – Teeth
- Woman- Women
- Child- Children
With this aspect, it will be a little clear what Regular and Irregular plural nouns look like.
Here the word is Employee’s, which defines the singularity of Employee’s working in an organization or simply Employee is/was working in an organization. This before the apostrophe ‘s’ is understood by almost all. But then comes Employees’ which defines a plurality of several employees’ or Employees working together in an organization. So with this aspect, let’s get a proper understanding never to mistake or misunderstand the concept behind it. So that it will be very clear when, where, and how to use it without being confused.
There are some rules to language which everyone needs to follow for the right grammar. And some of the rules for using the ‘s and s’ are:
- Never use apostrophes for possessive nouns.
Example: Its, yours, theirs, hers, his, mine, ours.
Example:
Wrong: That purse is her’s.
Correct: That purse is hers.
Explanation: The example is incorrect or simply an error to you when you first see it. The reason is her’s is not a word to use. Hers is a Possessive Pronoun which means it shows that the purse belongs to her. When something belongs to someone at that time, we don’t use an apostrophe to show its possession.
- Use (‘) an apostrophe with ‘s’ If Singular Noun.
Example: It’s, that’s, Dog’s, etc.
Example:
Wrong: Arpits dog is very friendly.
Correct: Arpit’s Dog is very friendly.
Explanation: The example seems incorrect because you all know we can’t put ‘s’ with someone’s name. So, here it’s easy to understand that Arpit has a very friendly dog in nature. Here the dog is owned by Arpit, or simply Arpit is the owner of the dog. We must use an apostrophe with a singular noun.
Therefore, the Employee’s is an Irregular plural noun that falls into this rule.
- Never to use (‘) an apostrophe with ‘s’ If the Plural noun ends in ‘s’.
Example: Mangoes’, Babies,’ Parents’, Eggs,’ Teachers’, etc.
Example:
Wrong: The child has eaten two Mangoes’s.
Correct: The child has eaten two Mangoes’.
Explanation: The example seems clear when a noun ends with ‘s’, ‘es,’ ‘ss,’ etc. We don’t use an apostrophe with ‘s’ in such cases. As per the example, the child has eaten two Mangoes’ mot Mangoes’s.
Therefore, The Employees’ is a Regular Plural which falls under this rule.
- Use (‘) an apostrophe with ‘s’ If plural doesn’t end with ‘s’.
Example: Children’s, People’s, Oxen’s, Feet’s, etc.
Example:
Wrong: That group of peoples is not so funny.
Correct: That group of people’s not so funny.
Explanation: The example here clears a doubt of where to use ‘s’ and where not to. Because People is a plural noun, we cannot use ‘s’ with the noun but can use it with an apostrophe (‘s).
Grammar is something you need to practice every day to understand more precisely. So people around you having good grammar when asked, ‘why is your grammar that good?’ Answer: It’s because of reading books and watching English movies and web series. Well, yes, this makes a person confident. And at the same time, people start applying what they read or watched to their real-life to be more comfortable with it.
No one can be perfect but can act perfect and smart. Many people do this to avoid being behind and tagged as a ‘poor grammar person’. In reality, it doesn’t matter what others think of you, what matters is are you willing to improve in some areas you think you are behind? If yes, then know one thing ‘You can do it.
And if no, then try to read your course books at least and find out where you really lack or what’s that you always ignore. We should never compare ourselves with others. Everyone has a different personality and thinking. One must accept themselves as they are and be who they are, not what others want them to see. Have confidence and faith in yourself and see the effective results by just being focused and confident. Keep learning and exploring at the same time. Enjoy the grammar because it’s honestly fun, and there’s no way back to the previous You.
Don’t forget – You can do it.
