The word month’s is the singular possessive form of month. E.g., “Last month’s results were disappointing.” Furthermore, months’ is the plural possessive form. E.g., “I paid several months’ rent at once because I am going away.” Also, months is the standard plural form of month.
Knowing how to use the four forms of month correctly can be tricky. Therefore, this chart provides a breakdown of each form, followed by some example sentences.
| Singular | Month |
| Plural | Months |
| Singular possessive | Month’s |
| Plural possessive | Months’ |
- Singular: I see my parents for dinner in the same place every month.
- Plural: I haven’t seen my sister for months.
- Singular possessive: I must give a month’s notice when I want to take a vacation from work.
- Plural possessive: In a few months’ time, we will be moving house.
As the sentences show, when you use months’, you must refer to a plural quantity of months of two or more. Contrastingly, when you use month’s, you can only refer to one month.
Now that you have read the basics concerning the possessive versions of the word month, keep reading to learn more about each term and how to use them.
Month’s
The term month’s is the singular possessive form of the word month. Therefore, you use it when you want to express that something belongs to a single month.
You can use the term month’s to refer to periods of time, i.e., something happening in a month.
- In a month’s time, we will be lying on the beach.
- We must give a month’s notice before vacating the apartment.
Furthermore, the word month’s commonly appears with words such as last, next, and this to refer to events belonging to the month.
- Last month’s awards ceremony was a success.
- This month’s sales figures are optimistic.
- Next month’s workload seems relatively light.
Months’
The word months’ is the plural possessive version of month. Therefore, you can use it to indicate that something belongs to two or more months.
One of the principal uses for the term months’ is to refer to time. When you use months’ in this way, you often add the words few, several, or couple combined with a word such as time or notice.
- In a few months’ time, we will have saved enough for a new car.
- I must give several months’ notice to my employer if I want to resign.
Furthermore, you can also use months’ to refer to events or results that belong to more than one month.
- I used my last few months’ salaries to repair the flood damage to the house.
- Recent months’ performances have been better than the first half of the year.
Months
The term months with no apostrophe is the standard plural version of the word month. That means you use it when referring to a plural quantity of months in a non-possessive context.
Further, you can use the word months with specific numbers. As shown in this example:
- We have lived here for almost ten months now.
Alternatively, you can use months with other quantifier words such as several, many, or a few.
- She has told him he needs to find a job for several months.
- He roamed the wilderness alone for many months.
- He spent a few months working on a fishing boat.