The use of -en at the end of irregular plurals was prevalent in Middle English, and that was when childer, which was the plural of “child,” became “children.” However, plurals that come with -an and -en in Old English were spelled using -en during the Middle English period (AD 1100–1500).ĭuring this period, writers applied the -en to plural words that do not come with -n originally. Where do you think the -en comes from? In Old English (pre-1100 AD), the plurals of some nouns that followed specific patterns ended with -n ( source). Generally, people believe that plurals often end with the letter “s,” but have you thought about plural words such as brethren, women, men, oxen, and children that end with -en? You will probably agree with me that the plural word for child is children. If you have a plural noun that does not end with -s, add -‘s to the ending - a perfect example is “children.”Ĭhildren’s is correct and childrens’ is wrong because “children” is plural and an irregular noun that requires the addition of -‘s to make it possessive. Another rule is to add only an apostrophe to a plural noun with an -s ending - for example, bananas’ and clowns’. One of the rules is to add -‘s if the noun is singular and has an -s ending. Some common rules guide the use of apostrophes in the majority of words and also indicate possession. An example of this is “children.” Also, some already have -s ending.
However, there are some irregular nouns with plurals that do not end with -s. There are some words that you can simply pluralize by adding the letter “s.” However, many assume that a contraction apostrophe is not acceptable in formal writing but acceptable in informal writing, especially when indicating a year.Īlso, pluralizing can come with some degree of confusion. There are three uses of an apostrophe, and they include indicating the omission of letters (contractions), to form possessive nouns, and to show the plural of symbols, numbers, and letters.Īn example of words where an apostrophe works as a contraction is “she’s,” “it’s,” and “let’s.”
Why Is Children’s Correct and Childrens’ Not Correct?
I’ll cover the proper use of the plural possessive form. Since “children” is an irregular plural noun, “children’s” is the correct plural possessive form when something belongs to, is possessed, or is controlled by children collectively, as in “The children’s recreational center.” In contrast, “The childrens’ recreational center” would never be correct as “children” is the plural of “child.” Many people wonder where the apostrophe should go and if the letter “s” should come after children. Some people get confused about whether to use children’s or childrens’.
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