Possessives: Posessive S or S'

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POSSESSIVES
POSESSIVE ‘s OR s’
 Making singular nouns possessive
+ If a singular noun, add ‘s.
The girl’s hands were chapped by the cold.
Even if the singular noun is a proper noun (i.e. a name), add ’s.

Richard’s attempts to solve the problem were rewarded.
+ If names ending in s, you can either add an apostrophe + s, or just an
apostrophe. The first option is more common. When pronouncing a
possessive name, we add the sound /z/ to the end of the name.
Chambers’s house (or Chambers’ house)
 Making plural nouns possessive

+ If a noun is plural in form and ends in an s, add an apostrophe only.
Cherries’ stones can break your teeth if you are not careful.
People are prepared to pay high prices for designers’ clothes.
+ If a plural noun does not end in s, add ‘s.

The children’s clothes were brand new.
The prices of men’s shoes run from ￡30 to ￡90.
 Indicating possession when two nouns are joined together

+ If there is joint possession, use the correct possessive for only the
possessive closest to the noun.
Clinton and Gore’s campaign was successful.
I didn’t come to Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s wedding.
Carol and Susan’ s car is out of gasoline.
 Indicating possession when two nouns are joined, and ownership is

separate
+ If there is a separate possession of the same noun, use the correct
possessive form for each word.
Susan’s and Beth’s books are full of useful information.
The car’s and the bicycle’s owners could speak French perfectly.
 Making hyphenated or compound nouns possessive

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+ With hyphenated or compound nouns, use the correct possessive form for
the word closest to the noun. Avoid possessives with compound plurals.
My daughter-in-law’s gift is a diamond necklace.

The English teacher’s method is very effective.
Your neighborhood letter carrier’s job is more difficult than you
imagine.
*WATCH OUT*
 When something belongs to more than one person and we give a list of
names, we put 's on the last name.
Sam and Emma's house (Sam's and Emma's house)
 With regular plural nouns we use ' not 's.
They're my parents' friends. (They're my parent's friends.)
 With irregular plural nouns we use 's.
They're my children's bicycles.(They're my childrens' bicycles.)
 's has two other uses.
Jack's in the classroom. (= Jack is in the classroom.)
Jack's got a new laptop. (= Jack has got a new laptop.)
 Possessive 's has no long form.
Here is Jack's room.Here is Jack is room.
 We can use a possessive instead of a full noun phrase to avoid

repeating words:
Is that John's car? - No, it's Mary's. (NOT No, it's Mary's [car].)
Whose coat is this?- It's my wife's. (NOT It's my wife's [coat].)
 We can use possessive nouns after of. We can say:
I am one of Susan's friends. > I am a friend of Susan's.
(NOT I am a friend of Susan.)
POSSESSIVE DETERMINES AND PRONOUNS
 Possessive determines: my, your, his, her, its, our, their

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We use possessive determine:

+ to show something belongs to somebody:
That's our house.
My car is very old.
+ for relations and friends:
My mother is a doctor.
How old is your sister?
+ for parts of the body:

He's broken his arm.
She's washing her hair.
I need to clean my teeth.
*Be careful!*
The possessive adjective its does not have an apostrophe ('):
That bird has broken its (NOT it's) wing.
 Possessive pronoun: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs(it's

always means it is or it has.)
We can use a possessive pronoun instead of a full noun phrase to
avoid repeating words:
Is that John's car? - No, it's mine. (NOT No, it's [my car].)
Whose coat is this? Is it yours? (NOT Is it [your coat]?)
*Be careful!*
 Possessive pronouns do not have an apostrophe:
Is that car yours/hers/ours/theirs?
(NOT Is that car your's/her's/our's/their's?)
 We can use possessive pronouns after of. We can say:
Susan is one of my friends. > Susan is a friend of mine.
(NOT Susan is a friend of me.)
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PRACTICE
Ex1 :
1. That car belongs to my friends. = It's my ___ car.
A. friends C. friends’
B. friend’s D. friend
2. ___ hair is very long.
A. Mis C. Mis’
B. Mi’s D. Mi
3. ___ daughter is my classmate.
A. Mr. and Mrs.Smiths C. Mr. and Mrs.Smiths’
B. Mr. and Mrs.Smith’s D.Mr.Smith’s and Mrs.Smith’s
4. Tell John that it’s ___ problem, not ___
A. I / him C. I / he
B. my / him D. my / he
5. ___ name are Daniel and Patrick.
A. Childrens C. Childrens’
B. Children’s D. Children
Ex2 :
1. Oxford is famous for ____ university. ( It )
its
2. My ____ name are Paul and Mick. (dog)
dogs’
3. Is that John's car? - No, it's _____. (Han)
Han’s
4. This bag isn’t ___. ( I )
mine
5. ______ cat is a Bristish Shorthair. ( Our next door neighbours )
Our next door neighbours’
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Ex3 :
1. This cake is really sweet. I think it’s got too much sugar in it. ( B => its)
A B C D
2. Whose bag is this? Is it you? ( D => yours)
A B C D
3. This is San, she is the friend of my. ( D => mine)
A B C D
4. Lia’s and John’s car was repaired by my uncle. ( A=> Lia and John’s )
A B C D
5. I don’t really get on so well with mine brother. ( D => my )
A B C D
Ex4 :
1. My picture is on the cover of the magazine.
→The magazine has ................................................................
The magazine has my picture on its cover.
2. This school is for girls only.
→ It's a ...................................
It's a girls' school.
3. The walk lasts two hours.
→ It's a ...............................
It's a two-hours' walk.
4. My friends have an American boss, John
→John is …………………………..
John is my friends’ American boss.
5. Mi, Tom and Hank have a class at 8 o’clock.
→There is …………………………..
There is Mi,Tom and Hank’s class at 8 o’clock.
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REFERENCES : AnnedzEnglish.edu
learnenglish.britishcouncil

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1

Even if the singular noun is a proper noun (i.e. a name), add ’s.

 Making plural nouns possessive

+ If a plural noun does not end in s, add ‘s.

 Indicating possession when two nouns are joined together

 Indicating possession when two nouns are joined, and ownership is

 Making hyphenated or compound nouns possessive

My daughter-in-law’s gift is a diamond necklace.

 We can use a possessive instead of a full noun phrase to avoid

POSSESSIVE DETERMINES AND PRONOUNS

 Possessive determines: my, your, his, her, its, our, their

We use possessive determine:

+ for parts of the body:

 Possessive pronoun: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs(it's

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