Question

Is the correct possessive form of Boss, Boss's or Boss' or something else?

Answer 1

Hint: An apostrophe (' ) is a little punctuation mark that indicates that a noun owns something. The apostrophe will always be placed before or after an s at the end of the noun owner. After the term owner, it will always appear after the item it owns (typically right away).

Complete answer:
The possessive of a single noun is formed by adding an apostrophe and s, regardless of whether the singular noun ends in s or not, according to the possessive apostrophe rule.
For example, a lawyer's fee or a child's toy.

When a plural noun ends in an s, the possessive is formed by simply adding an apostrophe; when it ends in a letter other than an s, the possessive is formed by adding both an apostrophe and an s.
excessive lawyers’ fees or children’s toys, for example.

The number of women who own the object determines the correct possessive spelling of lady. The possessive single varies from the possessive plural in appearance, but it is pronounced similarly.
He saw the lady's frown as she approached the huge line for the ladies' room.
She noticed the man's smile as he entered the men's room's shorter line.

Thus, the correct possessive form of boss is:
- Singular: boss's;
- Plural, bosses'.

Note:
i) As an exception to the conventional rule, use an apostrophe for singular nouns ending in an s that are in the plural form—or have a last word in the plural form. Take the Beatles' first album, for example.
ii) When a word with an s sound is followed by sake, one apostrophe is all that is required. For example, for goodness’ sake.