Possessive 's.

1.What is possessive ’s?

We use possessive ’s to show who something belongs to.

It is commonly used to talk about:

• Ownership – Maria’s bag
• Relationships – Adam’s sister

We usually use possessive ’s with people, animals, and organisations. For many objects, we usually say of rather than possessive ’s: the leg of the table rather than the table’s leg.

1.1Possessive ’s and of

Use possessive ’s especially for people and animals. Use of for many things and places.

• Maria’s bag / the leg of the table
• the dog’s ball / the roof of the house

With some organisations, both forms are possible: the company’s website or the website of the company.

The basic pattern is:

owner + ’s + thing

2.Singular and plural owners

The rule changes depending on whether the owner is singular or plural, and whether the word ends in -s.

2.1Singular owners

For one singular owner—usually a person, animal, or organisation—add ’s.

• the boy’s hat
• the woman’s bag
• John’s jacket
• Lisa’s shoes

For names ending in -s, add ’s.

• James’s room
• Lucas’s dog

You may also see James’ room in writing. Both forms are used; this lesson uses James’s room.

With names ending in -s, ’s usually adds an extra sound: James’s sounds like James-iz. Student’s and students’ sound the same, so the apostrophe position is a writing rule.

The same rule applies to common nouns ending in -s:

• the boss’s office
• the class’s teacher

2.2Regular plural owners

Most plural nouns end in -s (for example: girls, students, parents). For these words, add only an apostrophe (’) after the -s.

• parents → parents’
• girls → girls’
• students → students’

2.3Irregular plural owners

Some plural nouns do not end in -s.

For these words, add ’s.

• children → children’s
• men → men’s
• women → women’s

2.4Two owners of one thing

When two people own one thing together, add ’s to the second name.

3.Everyday uses of possessive ’s

We often use possessive ’s in short, everyday phrases.

• my mother’s name
• today’s lesson
• at Anna’s (at Anna’s home or shop)

4.Two things that look the same

4.1Possessive ’s and plural -s

Plural -s means more than one; possessive ’s shows who owns something.

• “The dogs are outside.” (plural: more than one dog)
• “The dog’s ball is outside.” (possessive: the ball belongs to one dog)

4.2Possessive ’s and is

“Tom’s happy” means “Tom is happy.” “Tom’s bag” is possessive: it means “the bag belongs to Tom.” Look at the word after Tom’s to decide the meaning.

4.3Possessive ’s and has

“Tom’s got a new bike” means “Tom has got a new bike.” “Anna’s finished her homework” means “Anna has finished her homework.” These are not possessive forms.

5.Quick summary

Owner	Rule	Example
Singular	add ’s	Sarah’s bag
Name ending in -s	add ’s	James’s room
Regular plural	add ’	students’ books
Irregular plural	add ’s	children’s toys
Two owners together	add ’s to the second name	Tom and Anna’s flat
Many objects	usually use of	the leg of the table

6.Common mistakes

Check where the apostrophe goes. A plural -s does not need an apostrophe unless it shows possession.

Incorrect	Correct	Why?
the dog’s are outside	the dogs are outside	Dogs is a plain plural, so it has no apostrophe.
three apple’s	three apples	A plain plural does not need an apostrophe.
the student’s classroom (many students)	the students’ classroom	Put the apostrophe after -s for a regular plural owner.
childrens’ toys	children’s toys	Children is an irregular plural, so add ’s.