How often have you see this type of thing? The Smith’s got together with the Johnson’s to discuss the problem’s they had with their kid’s . It seems to me when God handed out apostrophes, some people must have taken more than their fair share. Most nouns add an “s” or “es” to indicate more than one. (I’m not going to get into irregular plurals, like woman-women, child-children etc.) It’s very simple, really. The Smiths (more than one Smith) got together with the Johnsons (also more than one Johnson) to discuss the problems (oh dear, more than one problem!) with their kids. (also more than one kid. They must have been fighting again.) Here’s when you can use apostrophes : to indicate possession or ownership. The kid’s book, mom’s apple pie, Bob Smith’s beard, Jim Johnson’s wife. What if you have a plural that ends in “s” and you want to show possession? The style varies somewhat here. Some publications simply use the apostrophe after the “s”. The Smiths’ children . Other st...