Possessive’s
We use apostrophes(’s), also called possessive’s, as a determiner to show that something belongs to someone or something:
Is that Olivia’sbag?
Britain’scoastline is very beautiful.
We can also use it in complex noun phrases (underlined):
Greg isher youngest daughter’shusband.
We can use two possessive’sconstructions in the same noun phrase:
We went toJake’s father’sfuneral.
We also use possessive’sto talk about time and duration:
Is thatyesterday’spaper?
I’ve only had oneweek’sholiday so far this year.
Rules for using possessive’s
We use’safter a singular noun and’after a plural noun.
singular noun +’s | plural noun + ’ |
Thegirl’s bedroom (The bedroom belongs to one girl.) | Thegirls’ bedroom. (The bedroom belongs to more than one girl.) |
We use’swith irregular plural nouns (e.g.children, men, people, women):
Thechildren’sparents decided which university they would go to.
They have no respect for otherpeople’sproperty.
The rules for the pronunciation of a noun with’sare the same as the rules for pronunciation of plural forms of nouns.
noun +’sor’ | plural noun | pronunciation |
|
| /s/ |
|
| /z/ |
|
| /ɪz/ |
When a first or second name ends in-s, we can either add’or’s. It is more common to use’than’s. When we speak, we usually pronounce the final part of the word as/zɪz/or/sɪz/:
Is that James’car?(orIs that James’scar?) (both usually pronounced/ˈdʒeɪmzɪz/)
I love Keats’ poetry.(orI love Keats’s poetry.) (both usually pronounced/ˈki:tsɪz/)
With compound nouns, we add’sto the final noun:
Mysister-in-law’sfriend came with us.
Not:My sister’s-in-law friend
We don’t usually use the possessive’swith things:
the door handle
Not:the door’s handle
the shop window
Not:the shop’s window
the kitchen table
Not:the kitchen’s table
When we talk about places which are familiar to the speaker and the listener, we sometimes don’t use the noun after possessive’s:
the hairdresser’s salon – thehairdresser’s
the doctor’s surgery – thedoctor’s
We had to take our cat to thevet’stwice last month.(the same as:We had to take our cat to the vet’s clinic twice last month.)
Do you shop inMarks and Spencer’s?
We decided to go toJohn’safter the cinema.(the same as:We decided to go to John’s house after the cinema.)
In short answers, we can omit the noun if it is not necessary to repeat it:
A:Is that your coat?
B:No, it’sSandra’s.
We use possessive’swith words such asone, anyone, someone, anybody, somebody:
It’s important to knowone’srights as a tenant.
Is thissomeone’scoat here?
When we useelsewith these words, the’sis added toelse:
Why didn’t you come?Everyone else’shusband was there.
The pronounotherhas the same forms as nouns. We add’sto the singular form, and we add an apostrophe after the plural -sending in the plural form:
They took eachother’shand and started walking.
All of our luggage arrived but theothers’cases didn’t. The airline promise they will be here this evening.
We don’t use’swith possessive pronouns:
Is that dogyours?
Not:Is that dog your’s?
I think that car istheirs.
Not:I think that car is theirs’
We don’t use’swith the possessive determinerits. It’smeans ‘it is’:
The city is proud ofitsparks.
Not:The city is proud of it’s parks.
Possessives withof
Noun phrase +of+ possessive pronoun
We can talk about possession using the pattern: noun phrase +of+ possessive pronoun:
A friendofmine told me that all of the tickets have already sold out.
A:Where’s Martin?
B:He’s gone to pick upa cousinofhisat the station.
Is Linda McGrath a close friendofyours?
We use a possessive pronoun, not the object form of the pronoun:
A neighbour ofminecalled late last night.
Not:A neighbour of me…
Noun phrase +of+ possessive’snoun phrase
We can also use the noun phrase +ofpattern before a noun phrase with possessive’s:
He’s a brotherofMaria’s.
A friendofmy sister’s has opened a café on Dawson Street.
She was a daughterofthe President’s.
’sorofor either?
There are some general rules about when to use’sand when to useofbut there are many cases where both are possible:
The film’s hero or The hero of the film
The car’s safety record or The safety record of the car
The report’s conclusion or The conclusion of the report
Sometimes when we first mention a noun, we useof, and later when we refer to it again, we use’s:
Themountains of Pakistanare mostly in the north. At least one hundred of them are above 7,000 metres … Most ofPakistan’smountainsare in the spectacular Karakoram range.
When we don’t use’s
We don’t use’swhen the noun is not a person, animal, country, organisation, etc., or when the noun phrase is very long:
The nameof the shipwas ‘Wonder Queen’.(preferred toThe ship’s name was ‘Wonder Queen’.)
The house ofthe oldest woman in the village.(preferred toThe oldest woman in the village’s house.)
When we don’t useof
When we are talking about things that belong to us, relationships and characteristics of people, animals, countries, categories, groups or organisations made up of people, we usually use’s:
Themen’sdressing room is on the left at the end of the corridor.
Not:The dressing room of the men…
Thecat’spaw was badly cut.
Not:The paw of the cat…
See also:
Possessive’s
Possession: typical errors
We don’t use’swith plural nouns:
It’s my responsibility to deal withcustomers’complaints.
Not: …to deal with customers's complaints.
The possessive determineritshas no apostrophe:
We bought this car because we likeditscolour.
Not: …because we liked it’s colour.
We don’t use’sto make nouns plural. When we want to show that something is plural, we add-swithout an apostrophe:
They had to rebuild theroadsafter the earthquake.
Not:They had to rebuild the road’s…
See also:
Possessives withof
Punctuation
Apostrophe (’)