Which sentence shows correct possessive apostrophe usage?

Which sentence shows correct possessive apostrophe usage?

• A. The nurses notes were updated.
• B. The nurse notes were updated.
• C. The nurse's notes were updated.
• D. The nurse's notes were updated.

Answer: (C)

Possessive apostrophes show ownership. For a singular noun like nurse, you add ’s to indicate that the notes belong to that one nurse. The correct sentence reads The nurse’s notes were updated, meaning the notes belonging to a single nurse were updated. Without an apostrophe, nurses notes isn’t showing possession and reads awkwardly as a non-possessive phrase; if you were talking about notes of several nurses, you’d write nurses’ notes with the apostrophe after the s. In this context, the singular possessive form is appropriate.

Possessive apostrophes show ownership. For a singular noun like nurse, you add ’s to indicate that the notes belong to that one nurse. The correct sentence reads The nurse’s notes were updated, meaning the notes belonging to a single nurse were updated. Without an apostrophe, nurses notes isn’t showing possession and reads awkwardly as a non-possessive phrase; if you were talking about notes of several nurses, you’d write nurses’ notes with the apostrophe after the s. In this context, the singular possessive form is appropriate.