Today's vs Todays: Which Is Grammatically Correct?

One of the most common grammar mistakes involves forgetting to use apostrophes.

So, do you need an apostrophe to spell today’s?

The short answer is: usually yes! If you’re using today’s as a possessive form of the word today, such as in the phrase “today’s date,” then you should always use an apostrophe. The word todays without an apostrophe is grammatically incorrect.

This article will explain when you should use an apostrophe in today’s and how to remember the difference between today’s and todays.

Does Today’s Have an Apostrophe?

We use an apostrophe followed by an S whenever we want to show possession. For example, the word Sarah's is the possessive form of the name Sarah.

The same rule applies to the word today. If something belongs to the present day, you would use the possessive form today’s.

Todays with no apostrophe is almost always grammatically incorrect. The only time you should use todays without an apostrophe is when you’re referring to the plural form of the word today—in other words, multiple todays. This is rarely done except for poetic purposes, such as in the title of the book All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai.

Today’s Meaning

Today’s means “belonging to the present day” or “relating to the present day.”

For example, if you’re reading the newspaper, you might say, “Today’s headlines are exciting.” In this sentence, the word today’s indicates that you’re talking about the present day’s headlines, not some other day’s headlines.

Todays Date vs Today’s Date

The phrase today’s date always requires an apostrophe. Here are some more examples of this phrase in action:

Incorrect: What is todays date?

Correct: What is today’s date?

Incorrect: Todays date is October 10th.

Correct: Today's date is October 10th.

Today’s Meeting vs Todays Meeting

The phrase today’s meeting also requires an apostrophe. Here are some more examples of this phrase in action:

Incorrect: Don’t forget about todays meeting.

Correct: Don’t forget about today’s meeting.

Incorrect: Bring your laptop to todays meeting.

Correct: Bring your laptop to today's meeting.

Other Examples of Today’s Used in Sentences

The best way to learn the spelling of a word is to see examples of it in sentences. Here are some more examples of today’s from English literature.

“The timeless in you is aware of life’s timelessness. And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.”—Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

“This is my time, Hathaway. I’m leading today’s session.”—Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy

“Ah, coffee. The sweet balm by which we shall accomplish today's tasks.”—Holly Black, Ironside

“Today's worries are yesterday's fears and tomorrow's stories.”—Alyson Noel, Evermore

“Only in today's sick society can a man be persecuted for reading too many books.”—Markus Zusak, I Am the Messenger

“The best possible way to prepare for tomorrow is to concentrate with all your intelligence, all your enthusiasm, on doing today's work superbly today. That is the only possible way you can prepare for the future.”—Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

Conclusion on Today’s vs Todays

There you have it—a complete guide to todays vs today’s.

If you still need a little help, ProWritingAid will highlight confused words in your writing and help you fix them with one click. Use our free grammar checker to find missing apostrophes, spelling errors, and more.