Possessive 's
When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or
something, we usually add 's to a singular noun and an apostrophe
(') to a plural noun, for example:
- the boy's ball (one boy)
- the boys' ball (two or more boys)
Notice that the number of balls does not matter. The structure is
influenced by the possessor and not the possessed.
| |
one ball |
more than one ball |
| one boy |
the boy's ball |
the boy's balls |
| more than one boy |
the boys' ball |
the boys' balls |
| ENGLISH CLUB TIP |
Although we can use
"of" to show possession, it is more usual to use possessive 's. The following
phrases have the same meaning, but #2 is more usual and natural:
- the boyfriend of my
sister
- my sister's boyfriend
|
|
The structure can be used for a whole phrase:
- the man next door's mother (the mother of the man next
door)
- the Queen of England's poodles (the poodles of the Queen of
England)
- the President of the USA's secretary (the secretary of the
President of the USA)
Proper Nouns (Names)
We very often use possessive 's with names:
- This is Mary's car.
- Where is Ram's telephone?
- Who took Anthony's pen?
- I like Tara's hair.
When a name ends in "s", we usually treat it like any other
singular noun, and add 's:
But it is possible (especially with older, classical names) to
just add the apostrophe ('):
Irregular Plurals
Some nouns have irregular plural forms without "s" (man > men).
To show possession, we usually add 's to the plural form of these
nouns:
| singular noun |
plural noun |
| my child's dog |
my children's dog |
| the man's work |
the men's work |
| the mouse's cage |
the mice's cage |
| a person's clothes |
people's clothes |
|
