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Apostrophe

Please can somebody help me with the following sentence - is it:

The children's games were expensive or
The childrens' games were expensive

I think it's the first (as children is already plural, but could somebody explain this to me).

With many thanks.

Re: Apostrophe

There are four ways to use the apostrophe to show ownership or belonging.
1. Add apostrophe 's' to the end of a singular noun that does not end in 's':
Karl Marx = Karl Marx's theories
the doll’s dress

2. Add apostrophe 's' to the end of a singular noun, even if it ends in 's'
Doris = Doris’s scarf
James = James's book
the boss = the boss's book
Charles Dickens = Charles Dickens’s novels
Mr. Jones = Mr. Jones's house
The princess = the princess's tiara

3. Add apostrophe 's' to the end of a plural noun that doesn’t end in 's'
children =the children’s bag AND SO : "The children's games were expensive"
people = the People's Choice TV Award

4. If the plural noun ends in s, just add the apostrophe
two married friends who own a car = my friends’ car
John and Mary Harris own their own = the Harris' home
ditto the Jones' home
one girl
two girls go to a school just for girls, so = it is a girls' school
one teacher
two teachers/all the teachers at the school share a common room, so= it is the teachers' common room
two princesses own tiaras, so = the princesses' tiaras

That covers it all.

Re: Apostrophe

Yes, many thanks for you excellent reply.

Re: Apostrophe

Thank you for saying so Helen. I have noticed, reading back over questions and replies, that practically nobody does say thank you. I guess that's why some native speakers who have answered in the past don't stick around and just disappear from the forum. A forum is only as good as its sense of community.