Wife’s or Wives’?
The word wife’s is the singular possessive of wife. E.g., “My wife’s cooking is amazing.” Furthermore, the word wives’ is the plural possessive form. E.g., “The husbands supported their wives’ careers.” Also, wives is the regular plural form.
Plural and Possessive Forms of the Word Wife
| Form | Example |
| Singular | Wife |
| Plural | Wives |
| Singular possessive | Wife’s |
| Plural possessive | Wives’ |
You make the singular possessive by adding an apostrophe and an “s.” In comparison, for the plural possessive, you just add an apostrophe to wives.
Examples
Singular: My wife is a talented artist.
Plural: The party was attended by several husbands and wives.
Singular possessive: My wife’s smile brightens up the room.
Plural possessive: The wives’ club organized a charity event.
Using the wrong form of the word wife in your writing will make it look unprofessional. Therefore, you should read the rest of the guide so you can learn more about the different forms and how to use them.
Wife’s
The word wife’s is the singular possessive form of wife. Therefore, you can use it to say something belongs to one wife.
The things you refer to a wife owning can be both physical and non-physical.
As shown in these two examples:
- My wife’s laughter is contagious.
- My wife’s love for reading is inspiring.
In both instances, we are referring to just one wife possessing something.
Wives’
The word wives’ is the plural possessive form of wife. Therefore, you use it when you want to say that more than one wife owns or possesses something.
You form the plural possessive by adding the apostrophe to the end of the plural word wives.
- The wives’ support group met weekly.
- The husbands admired their wives’ accomplishments.
Wives
The word wives is the regular plural form of the word wife. That means you should use it to mention a plural quantity of wives when the sentence is not possessive.
With the word wives, you can refer to a set number of wives, as in these examples:
- The three wives went shopping together.
- There were many wives and husbands at the party.
- Several wives complained about the lack of parking spaces.
Alternatively, you can use it to refer to all wives.
- Wives often play an important role in supporting their families.
- Many wives attended the marriage counseling session.
- The wives of the football players formed a social club.
- All the wives in the neighborhood were invited to the party.
- The wives of the deployed soldiers formed a support group.
