Is it "How-Tos" or "How-To's?" (Correct Grammar + Examples)

What is the plural of the word “how-to?” Is it “how-to’s” or “how-tos?” Making plural forms from compound words and hyphenated compounds can be challenging. It is confusing where to place the apostrophe to make sure that there aren’t any grammar errors.

Learn the correct way to spell this word in this short English grammar guide…

Why is there confusion between how-to’s and how-tos?

Making a plural form from compound words and hyphen compounds is challenging. It’s confusing where to place the apostrophe to ensure that the possession of the form is correctly spelled. Is there an apostrophe or is there no apostrophe?

“How-to” definition

Let’s take a look at the definition of the base form:

Word	Definition
How-to (adjective) /ˈhouˌto͞o/	providing detailed and practical advice.

Which is correct? How-tos or How-to’s?

Here is a simple breakdown of which word form is correct. For examples of each word form in an English sentence, scroll down to the next section.

Word	Correct or incorrect
How-tos	Correct: A modern way to say that there are many “how-to” guides.
How-to’s	Correct: Also correct, although less commonly used.

How-to’s sentence examples

Below are sentence examples using the word form correctly:

Where can I see the how-to’s on this tutorial?

How-tos sentence examples

Below are sentence examples using the word form correctly:

How many how-tos are available on this subject?

How to remember which word form to use

Luckily, remembering which form to use is rather simple. Since both are acceptable. Although, using “how-tos” is technically correct, you won’t have grammar problems if you use “how-to’s.” Usually, the use of the apostrophe in plural forms is considered to be more formal and proper English.

How to use the apostrophe correctly

The possessive singular noun is made by adding an apostrophe and the letter “s” to the singular noun in question, regardless of whether the singular noun ends in an “s” letter.

When a plural noun has an “s” at the end, the possessive form of the noun is created by simply adding an apostrophe. When the noun ends in any other letter, the possessive form is made by adding both an apostrophe and an “s.”

Form	Example
Singular noun	Sarah’s
Plural noun	Women’s
2 or more people	Kim and Adam’s
Singular noun ending in “s”	James’s and James’
Plural noun ending in “s”	Parent’s
2+ people	Kim’s and Adam’s

Apostrophe for Possessives	Apostrophe for Contractions
Amy’s swim class	they + have = they’ve
Karen’s car	are + not = aren’t
Robert’s vehicle	they + will = they’ll

Singular Noun	Plural Noun
My child’s dog	My children’s dog
The man’s work	The men’s work
The mouses’ cage	The mice’s cage
A person’s clothes	People’s clothes

Plural Noun Rule	Example or Exception
To make regular nouns plural, add ‑s to the end.	Cats, Houses
If the singular noun ends in ‑s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z, add ‑es to the end to make it plural.	Bus / Busses, Tax / Taxes
In some instances, singular nouns ending in -s or -z, require that you double the -s or -z prior to adding the -es for pluralization.	Gas / Gasses
If the noun ends with ‑f or ‑fe, the f is often changed to ‑ve before adding the -s to form the plural version.	Wife / wives Exceptions: Roof / Roofs Chef / Chefs
If a singular noun ends in ‑y and the letter before the -y is a consonant, change the ending to ‑ies to make the noun plural.	City / Cities
If the singular noun ends in -y and the letter before the -y is a vowel, simply add an -s to make it plural.	Boy / Boys
If the singular noun ends in ‑o, add ‑es to make it plural.	Tomato / Tomatoes Exceptions: Photo / Photos
If the singular noun ends in ‑us, the plural ending is often ‑i.	Cactus / Cacti
If the singular noun ends in ‑is, the plural ending is ‑es.	Ellipsis / Ellipses
If the singular noun ends in ‑on, the plural ending is ‑a.	Criterion / Criteria
Some nouns don’t change when they’re pluralized.	Sheep / Sheep Deer / Deer

Possessive Nouns and Plural Posessive Nouns FAQs

Can an apostrophe and an “s” together represent a contraction?

Yes. Two words put together to make a single word can also do this. For example: ice-cream. Or ice-cream. These can be compound nouns, as well. For example, “coffee table,” “forest fire.”

What is a plural possessive noun that ends in an apostrophe “s”?

An example would be “children’s clothes.” Without an apostrophe “s” and being a possessive noun would be: kids toys, smiths house (referring to the smith family). Each relate to different things but indicate possession.

What are the seven possessive nouns?

Mine, ours, yours, his, hers, its, and theirs.

What are the three rules of possessive nouns?

Rule 1: To form the possessive of a singular or to add an apostrophe and an s.

Rule 2: For a plural noun, add only an apostrophe (‘)

Rule 3: For a possessive noun that does not end in an “s” letter, add an apostrophe and “s” letter. For examples, “mice’s.”

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About the author

Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.