'to get class's attention' vs 'to get class' attention'?

to get the class's attention

From my Biology prof to me: If possible, avoid using ___'s. Instead, use "of" sounds better. Ex: To get (the) attention of the class....

Biology professors are not known for their understanding of English grammar. Instead, it seems that your professor likes to be wordy. 'Class's' is fine. Any noun that refers to people is fine with the Anglo-Saxon genitive.

The possessive of plural nouns ending in s is s'
so you would be getting the class' attention, or having lunch in the teachers' lounge.

You only use 's with singlar possessive nouns.

AnonymousThe possessive of plural nouns ending in s is s'
so you would be getting the class' attention, or having lunch in the teachers' lounge.

But "class" is not a plural noun; "classes" is. So it would be classes'.

CliveHi,

The original query was related to getting the attention of one class. In that case, the correct term is class's

Clive

Agreed. My response was just specific to what the other "Anonymous" had said. My apologies for not being clear.

The only problem with that reasoning is that class is not a plural noun; it is singular. The plural form of class is classes. When a noun is singular and you make it possessive, add 's everytime.