-s'

See also: s'

English

(after a vowel or a voiced consonant other than a sibilant) enPR: z, zəz, IPA^(key): /z/, /zɪz/
(after voiceless consonants /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, or /θ/) enPR: s, səz, IPA^(key): /s/, /sɪz/
(after sibilant consonants /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/)
- (Received Pronunciation, General American, weak vowel distinction) enPR: ĭz, IPA^(key): /ɪz/
- (General Australian, weak vowel merger) enPR: əz, IPA^(key): /əz/

s’

Plural possessive marker (applied to words which form the plural by adding -s), indicating than an object belongs to the plural noun phrase bearing the marker. (See also es'.)
Chris’s heart leapt when she saw the expressions on her teachers’ faces. (the teacher + s’)

their faces’ expressions (face + s’)

Use of the plural possessive marker -s’ is to be distinguished from use of the possessive marker -' on nouns that terminate in -s (see -' for more) and from the possessive marker -'s (which also see). Whether they are pronounced identically or differently varies between idiolects. The BBC prescribes the following distinction:^[1] (a) Dickens novel and Dickens’ novel /dɪkɪnz nɒvəl/, Dickens’s novel /dɪkɪnzɪz nɒvəl/; princess’s and princesses’ /pɹɪn.sɛs.ɪz/; i.e. adding bare ’ or -(e)s’ does not change pronunciation. Some speakers, however, may pronounce one or both as /ɪz/, i.e. Dickens’ as /ˈdɪkɪnzɪz/, princesses’ as /pɹɪn.sɛs.ɪs.ɪz/, and e.g. boys’ as /bɔɪzɪz/ (instead of the more common /bɔɪz/).

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