Genitive case and plural

Anonymous wrote:

Hello!  Please, which form is correct : the actress husband (or) the actress' husband ? And why? What is the plural for 'lens'? E.g.: He smiled at the lens of the camera.   Thanks,  Andreas

Clive wrote:

Please, which form is correct : the actress husband (or) the actress' husband ? And why? Neither. Say the actress's husband. Perhaps you are confused because 'actress' ends in s. You may be thinking of the plural situation, where we'd say The students' teacher without adding an s.

Hi, Clive!

   Thanks for your answer. But I have to confess that I'm too confused about it now, once I always heard: " the boy's mother" or the "students' school"  for example. So could you please, explain me the reason why for 'the husband of the actress' , I have to write = the actress's husband , and not simply the actress' husband, for instance? And in case of plural, is it correct to write: the actresses' husbands ?

  Best Wishes,

 Andreas. 

Hi,

Thanks for your answer. But I have to confess that I'm too confused about it now, once I always heard: " the boy's mother" or the "students' school"  for example. So could you please, explain me the reason why for 'the husband of the actress' , I have to write = the actress's husband , and not simply the actress' husband, for instance? And in case of plural, is it correct to write: the actresses' husbands ?

" the boy's mother" Do you have a problem understanding this example?

"students' school"

the actress's husband , and not simply the actress' husband, I tried to explain this by saying 'Singular names (and I would add 'nouns') ending in -s usually have possessive forms in 's. You don't understand this explanation?

in case of plural, is it correct to write: the actresses' husbands ? Yes. For plurals, you usually just add an apostrophe. eg  his brothers' books.

Best wishes, Clive