So I am working on a scene in my novel I am writing and I am having issues with the possessive 's. I have a none standard name that I have had to add to my Dictionary on Microsoft Word, the name is Harika. I am reffering to a body part of hers being affected by another person. IE "Felicity scratched Harikas arm." I am not sure if it is supposed to be Harika's or Harikas help please.
Apostrophes denote possession when used with a singular noun: "Harika's dress," "Dad's long, greasy hair," "the ship's list increased to nineteen degrees." This answers your immediate question. If the singular noun is a proper name that ends in "s", it still gets an apostrophe-s possessive tense: "Doris's raincoat was torn." If it is not a proper noun and it ends in s, no "s" -- only apostrophe: "the windlass' axle broke, and the line went taut." (Although I'd use "The axle on the windlass", myself.) A plural noun not ending in "s" also gets the apostrophe-s for possessiveness: "The children's room was a mess." The apostrophe is omitted in possessive pronouns (yours, ours, its, his, hers, theirs).
