Boys or Boys'

[Wishing on a star]

I'd just go with the adjective instead of the possessive. Boys Basketball.

Yes, this.... It might be the School's or Church''s basketball team.
But, I would not consider the boys to be possessive.

 

[Happy Snowman]

It's usually referring to a system of competition between different teams. However, I almost never see an apostrophe even though it probably should have one.

ok, but why??? No one seems to know why it should have the apostrophe if that is proper?

Say a school website lists it's sports:

Football
Baseball
Boys Basketball
Boys Soccer
Girls Basketball
Girls Soccer
...all of those should have an apostrophe? If so, why??

 

[EMom]

Go to a library and check out an elementary English textbook. That will solve the mystery of man/men/man's/men's, its/it's, boy's/boys' and so many other things.

 

[Happy Snowman]

Go to a library and check out an elementary English textbook. That will solve the mystery of man/men/man's/men's, its/it's, boy's/boys' and so many other things.

wow, who peed in your cheerios this morning

 

[EMom]

wow, who peed in your cheerios this morning

The urge to red ink that sentence is so strong.

To answer your question, no one. I have a hard time believing you actually have all these questions unless English is not your first language. My reply was serious. You are best served by reading an appropriate textbook.

I understood your initial question, but once you veered off into "boys/boys' basketball" referencing the actual BALL instead of the team or sport, you lost me. When you threw "men's/mens'" (it hurts to type that) into the thread, I figured you were pulling our legs. Perhaps not. But if you truly do not understand that "men" is already plural and thus, requires no "s" be added, then reading a textbook might be the best course of action. No snark, just fact.

No pee or Cheerios either.

 

[Happy Snowman]

The urge to red ink that sentence is so strong.

To answer your question, no one. I have a hard time believing you actually have all these questions unless English is not your first language. My reply was serious. You are best served by reading an appropriate textbook.

I understood your initial question, but once you veered off into "boys/boys' basketball" referencing the actual BALL instead of the team or sport, you lost me. When you threw "men's/mens'" (it hurts to type that) into the thread, I figured you were pulling our legs. Perhaps not. But if you truly do not understand that "men" is already plural and thus, requires no "s" be added, then reading a textbook might be the best course of action. No snark, just fact.

No pee or Cheerios either.

Maybe you need to go back and read where the rest of us were having a polite discussion about boys'/boys being possessive vs being descriptor/adjective, and how three major newspapers do not agree on this either. You got lost because most of us on this thread feel that boys' is a possessive and should therefore be possessing something, in the example, an actual basketball and we don't feel that you can possess the sport, basketball....

 

[leebee]

There are also issues with who's/whose and it's/its, and I'll question whether the press media is the best reference for appropriate use of the English language. Maybe it's time to let it go.

 

[Deb in IA]

Too funny. I JUST taught this to a 4th grade class. It would be Boys' with an apostrophe. It is considered a plural possessive. If it is singular you would add 's.

I think the "boys" is an adjective.
It describes the "basketball team".

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I think boys' .

Boy's would show one person and boys' would be multiple people(referring to possessions).

 

[Deb in IA]

OK, so say the basketball team is coached by John Smith. He also coaches a girls team.

So, the team would be described as "John's boys basketball team" - "John's" is the possessive, and "boys" is the adjective.
(I just asked my colleague who was an English major, and she agrees.)

 

[Divah]

I think it depends on context of use
boys- plural of boy
boy's - possessive of one boy
boys' - possessive of more than one boy

So :
Do you play boys basketball?
Or
Did you take the boy's basketball?
Or
Did you take the boys' basketball?

Following rules of language I do believe it is Boys when talking about the subject as a sport in that context...been years since college and my grammar and English is horrible and very lax lol.

 

[mjkacmom]

I agree with the last 2 posters - I have a BA in English with a concentration in writing, although that was many moons ago.

 

[threeboysmom]

Depends on context - can be used as a plural possessive OR as a noun:

If you are referring to the team as belonging to all boys, it's boys' basketball team - a team belonging to all boys.

It can be interchanged with their basketball team = boys' basketball team. Both are plural possessive and mean the same thing.

However:

If you are using it as a noun such as, "does your son play boys basketball?" Now it's become a noun or a thing. It's no longer being used in the plural case because it's not referring to the team made up of boys. You wouldn't say "does your son play their basketball?"

In this case, "boys basketball" is the name of the sport - so no possession here.