The word sister’s is the singular possessive form of sister. E.g., “That is my sister’s house.” Also, the plural possessive is sisters’. E.g., “Those are my sisters’ toys.” Finally, the plural version of sister is sisters, with no apostrophe. E.g., “My sisters are both coming to visit this weekend.”
Take a look at this overview showing the four different forms of sister:
| Singular | Sister |
| Plural | Sisters |
| Singular possessive | Sister’s |
| Plural possessive | Sisters’ |
When discussing something belonging to just one sister, you need to put the apostrophe before the “s” at the end of the word.
However, when discussing something belonging to more than one sister, you should put the apostrophe after the “s” at the end of the term.
Here are some examples to highlight the difference:
- Singular: I only have one sister, who is older than me.
- Plural: I have four sisters and am the only male in the house.
- Singular possessive: That is my sister’s dog.
- Plural possessive: My sisters’ school grades are always better than mine. They both get straight A’s.
Please keep reading the rest of the article, where we explain in more detail how to use the plural and possessives of the term sister.
Sister’s
You can use the term sister’s to indicate that something belongs to a single sister. For these situations, you need to put the apostrophe between the “r” and the “s.”
Here are some examples:
- He crashed his sister’s car, so I think she will be angry with him.
- I am going to my sister’s birthday party this Friday.
- I borrowed my sister’s book for the weekend and need to return it.
- My sister’s opinion on the matter differs from mine.
- I found my sister’s necklace under the couch.
- Did you see the painting in my sister’s room? It’s beautiful!
- She was humming her sister’s favorite song all day.
When using this singular possessive form, you must ensure that the item you refer to belongs to the sister. Items belonging to someone can be physical traits or possessions, or they can be non-tangible such as a personality or event.
Next, we’ll have a closer look at the plural possessive form of sister.
Sisters’
The word sisters’ with the apostrophe at the end is the plural possessive form of the word sister.
Therefore, you can use sisters’ to refer to things that belong to two or more sisters.
This example refers to two sisters:
- My two sisters’ bridesmaid dresses that they are wearing for my wedding are both blue.
Whereas this example refers to all sisters:
- Sisters’ younger brothers often try to annoy them.
You should always take care when using sisters’ that you are referring to a plural quantity of sisters.
Here are some more example sentences that you can refer to:
- I went to my sisters’ shared apartment over the weekend.
- The sisters’ joint venture in the fashion industry was quite successful.
- The sisters’ favorite vacation spot has always been the beach in Bali.
- Their sisters’ opinions always seem to align on political matters.
- Can you tell the sisters’ voices apart when they sing?
- The sisters’ combined effort in the charity event raised a significant amount of money.
- It’s hard to believe, but the sisters’ birthdays are all in the same week!
- I borrowed the sisters’ recipe book; they have some fantastic family dishes in there.
- The sisters’ childhood memories were documented in a scrapbook.
- All of the sisters’ cars are parked in the driveway, making it look like there’s a party going on.
Now, let’s see how to correctly use sisters in a sentence.
Sisters
The term sisters is the plural form of sister. Therefore, you should not add an apostrophe when you write about sisters and do not mention something that belongs to them.
These two examples show the differences between using an apostrophe and not using one:
- Next week I am meeting both of my sisters for lunch.
- Next week I am meeting both of my sisters’ husbands for the first time.
Lastly, here are some more examples of how to use sisters in a sentence:
- My two sisters are traveling to Europe next month.
- The twin sisters enrolled in different universities but kept in close contact.
- The sisters formed a musical band together and performed at local venues.
- Have you met the Johnson sisters? They are quite famous in this town.
- Many people think sisters share everything, but mine have very different tastes.
- At the family reunion, the three sisters reminisced about their childhood adventures.
- Although the sisters grew up in the same household, they chose very different career paths.
- The movie depicts the life challenges and triumphs of four sisters.
- Their bond is strong; the sisters support each other through thick and thin.
- The sisters always have a special ritual they follow whenever they reunite after a long time apart.
So, just remember that sisters is not a possessive form but just the plural form of sister.