Explanation: 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
|
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)
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
Proper Nouns (Names)
We very often use possessive 's with
names:
- This is
Mary's car.
- Where is
Ann'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:
·
This is Charles's chair.
-
But it is possible (especially
with older, classical names) to just add the apostrophe ':
·
Who was Jesus' father?
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
|
More examples:
The car of John = John's
car.
The room of the girls = The girls' room.
Clothes for men = Men's jobs.
The sister of Charles = Charles' sister.
The boat of the sailors = The sailors' boat.
There are also some fixed
expressions where the possessive form is used :
Time expressions
|
Other expressions
|
a day's work
|
For God's sake!
|
a fortnight's holiday
|
a pound's
worth of apples.
|
a month's pay
|
the water's edge
|
today's newspaper
|
a stone'sthrow
away (= very near)
|
in a year'stime
|
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:
the grocer's,
|
the doctor's,
|
the vet's,
|
the newsagent's,
|
the chemist's,
|
Smith's,
|
the dentist's,
|
Tommy Tucker's,
|
Luigi's,
|
Saint Mary's,
|
Saint James's.
|
|
a. Shall we go to Luigi's
for lunch?
b. I've got an appointment at the dentist's at eleven o'clock.
c. Is Saint Mary's an all-girls school?