My … house is on the next street

Analyze the question

The question tests the possessive form of a compound noun. The blank needs a word that shows the house belongs to my father-in-law.

Explain the concept

For hyphenated compound nouns such as father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law, the apostrophe + s goes at the end of the whole compound, not after the first word.

• Singular possessive: father-in-law's house
• Plural (for reference): fathers-in-law (the main noun takes the plural), and the plural possessive is fathers-in-law's

Solution, option by option

• A. father-in-law's puts 's at the end of the whole compound, which is correct.
• B. father's-in-law puts the apostrophe after "father" only, which breaks the compound and is wrong.
• C. fathers' in-law has no hyphens and a plural possessive on "fathers", which is wrong.
• D. father-in-laws' is a plural possessive formed incorrectly, because the plural should be "fathers-in-law", and it also doesn't suit "my ... house" (one person).

The sentence reads: "My father-in-law's house is on the next street."

Answer: A

Exam tip: With compound nouns, add 's to the end of the whole word. Examples: mother-in-law's car, commander-in-chief's order. Only the plural form changes the main word (sisters-in-law).