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Not sure if I used affect/effect correctly, but anyway...

So, here's my question if the title didn't explain it well enough: say you have the following phrase: "in the men's bathroom". The plural of "man" is "men", so when showing possession with a plural word that doesn't end in "s", you use "apostrophe s", right? Well, what if "bathroom" were also plural? So you've got multiple men and multiple bathrooms. Would it be "men's bathrooms" or "mens' bathrooms"? Does the object being possessed being singular or plural make a difference as far as whether or not you use 's or s'? I could have sworn I was taught in school it does make a difference, but now I can't remember.

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It is men's bathrooms, never mens' (Mens' or Men's?.)

There is no difference in the noun-number of the object being possessed (whether it is singular or plural). This link may be helpful: Rules for Apostrophes explaining possession.

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This is two different questions:

Number 1:

No. The possessive noun does not effect the possessed.

Examples:

Men: singular; Bathroom: plural:

the man's bathrooms

Men: plural; Bathroom: plural:

the mens' bathrooms

Men: singular; Bathroom: singular:

the man's bathroom

Men: plural; Bathroom: singular:

the mens' bathroom

However, the above is wrong, because men is an irregular noun. for most nouns, the above, however, for men, the below is true:

Men: singular; Bathroom: plural:

the man's bathrooms

Men: plural; Bathroom: plural:

the men's bathrooms

Men: singular; Bathroom: singular:

the man's bathroom

Men: plural; Bathroom: singular:

the men's bathroom

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  • What exactly do you mean by men plural? We all know it is plural, but I am trying, with difficulty, to think of a case where mens' bathroom(s) would be correct.
    – WS2
    Jan 19, 2016 at 23:20
  • @WS2 I corrected my answer. mens' bathroom would never be referred to.
    – Elliot A.
    Jan 19, 2016 at 23:55
  • Well if you had a club called "mens" you could say it is the mens' bathroom if they are exclusive about their bathrooms. But that's such a silly example.
    – BleepBloopOverflow
    Jan 20, 2016 at 2:05

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