Expert School

Possessives

The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. 'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is one of the relationships it expresses:

·         John owns a car. ('John' is the possessor or owner)

·         It is John's car.

·         America has some gold reserves. ('America' is the owner)

·         They are America's gold reserves.

It can also express other relationships, for example:

Where someone works or studies or spends time:

·         John goes to this school. This is John's school.

·         John sleeps in this room. This is John's room.

a family relationship:

·         John's mother

·         The Queen's daughter

qualities:

·         John's patience.

·         The politician's hypocrisy.

Form

To form the possessive, add 's ('apostrophe -s') to the noun.
If the noun is plural, or already ends in -s, just add:' (an apostrophe).

For names ending in -s:

In speaking we add the sound /z/ to the name, but in writing it is possible to use either 's or just '. The 's form is more common.

e.g. Thomas's book, James's shop.

Examples:

·         The car of John = John's car.

·         The room of the girls = The girls' room.

·         Clothes for men = Men's clothes.

·         The sister of Charles = Charles' sister.

·         The boat of the sailors = The sailors' boat.

Teacher: Anna