Possessives

The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. It shows a relationship of belonging between one thing and another. To form the possessive, add apostrophe + s to the noun. If the noun is plural, or already ends in -s, just add an apostrophe after the -s.

Examples

• the car of John = John's car
• the room of the girls = the girls' room
• clothes for men = men's clothes
• the boat of the sailors = the sailors' boat

For 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.

Examples

• Thomas's book (or Thomas' book)
• James's shop (or James' shop)
• The Smiths's house (or The Smiths' house)

Functions of the possessive

'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is the most common relationship the possessive expresses.

Examples

• John owns a car.
  • => It is John's car.
• America has some gold reserves.
  • => They are America's gold reserves.

The possessive can also express where someone works, studies or spends time.

Examples

• John goes to this school.
  • => This is John's school.
• John sleeps in this room.
  • => This is John's room.

The possessive can express a relationship between people.

Examples

• John's mother is running late.
• Mrs Brown's colleague will not be coming to the meeting.

The possessive can express intangible things as well.

Examples

• John's patience is running out.
• The politician's hypocrisy was deeply shocking.

Fixed Expressions

There are also some fixed expressions where the possessive form is used.

Examples

• a day's work
• a month's pay
• today's newspaper
• in a year's time
• For God's sake! = exclamation of exasperation
• a stone's throw away = very near
• at death's door = very ill
• in my mind's eye = in my imagination

The possessive is also used to refer to shops, restaurants, churches and colleges, using the name or job title of the owner.

Examples

• Shall we go to Luigi's for lunch?
• I've got an appointment at the dentist's at eleven o'clock.
• Is Saint Mary's an all-girls school?