Learn English – The plural form of: One’s life work

apostrophegrammatical-numberpossessives

I'm editing an essay about the two founders of a software company, and there is a sentence that currently reads:

They have made it their live's work…"

This looks and feels wrong, but I'm having a brain fart and need some help. Should it be:

  • Their life's work
  • Their live's work
  • Their lives work
  • Their lifes work

What's the correct way to write this?

Please reconsider opening this question, which was closed for being off topic. The "specific source of concern in the text" has indeed been identified, it's been highlighted clearly and several alternatives have been offered by the OP. And as FumbleFingers commented:

…it seems pretty obvious from the comments here that we're not dealing with a trivial issue that could have a single obvious answer.

Best Answer

There doesn't appear to be a universal consensus on this point. I would suggest that the OP chooses the form he or she prefers and remain faithful to that.

CDO life's work noun [U] (US lifework)

Your life's work is the work that is most important to you and to which you give a lot of time and effort: Her garden was her life's work

  1. Without the possessive apostrophe (an unusual construction)

    • Now, at mid-life, at an average age of 44, the subjects can be considered to be pretty well established in their life work source

    • At this point, many individuals become concerned about their generativity, their life work, and connecting to social or spiritual realms outside of the self source

  2. The singular noun with the possessive apostrophe i.e. life's

    • After concerns about money, the next major obstacle that holds people back from taking up the quest for their life's work is fear of breaking away from the pack. source

    • Reflecting upon their life's work, Thuli and Catharine envisaged a multigenerational timeline in which their children and grandchildren would benefit from their hard work. source

  3. The plural noun with the apostrophe after the suffix -s; i.e. lives'

    • They imagined it as a time for reflection and recollection of their lives' work and their relationship together. source
    • Women listed their children as a validation of their lives' work source

It can also be written as one word

lifework noun
1. the complete or principal work, labor, or task of a lifetime.
1870-75; life + work

  • The introducer explained that my research had disproved part of my adviser's lifework, and the shock had killed him
  • It is also being used with adults who want to clarify their lifework objectives and perhaps make mid-life career changes.

  1. As an 'uncountable' noun i.e. lifework

    • how these individuals, with different backgrounds and located in different situations, go about organizing their "lifework" and how this ties into their access to social services... source

    • ... what we want is teachers who have made teaching their lifework, [...] and the number of those who make teaching their lifework will soon be greater than those who consider it simply a business source

N.B The expression their lives work is a little unusual but nevertheless grammatical. In this instance, work is used as a verb meaning to produce a desired effect or result; to succeed. E.g. my deepest satisfaction in work is to give people insights that help their lives work better

Related Topic