The plural possessive of the word “witness” is witnesses’.
You would use this form when something belongs to multiple witnesses. For example: “The witnesses’ statements were crucial to the case.”
Plural form of “witness”:
The plural of “witness” is witnesses. This is formed by adding -es to “witness” since the word ends in -s, which follows typical rules for pluralizing words that end in -s, -x, -z, -ch, or -sh.
Possessive form:
To form the possessive of a noun, you generally add ‘ to the singular form (e.g., witness’s) or ‘ to the plural form (e.g., witnesses’).
Since we’re dealing with the plural possessive of “witness,” we follow the rule for plural nouns ending in -es, where you add just the apostrophe (‘).
Putting it together:
- Witness’s (singular possessive) – This refers to something belonging to one witness. Example: “The witness’s testimony was vital.”
- Witnesses’ (plural possessive) – This refers to something belonging to multiple witnesses. Example: “The witnesses’ accounts differed.”
So, witnesses’ is used when you’re referring to something that belongs to multiple witnesses.