Possessives in English are used to indicate ownership or a close relationship between two nouns. In other words, they simply tell us who or what something belongs to. In English, we have words that show possession such as possessive pronouns or possessive adjectives or we add /’s/ for a singular noun or use an apostrophe if the noun ends in “s”. This guide will help you understand possessives in English.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns (independent possessive pronouns): These replace a noun and show possession without needing another noun to follow.
- Mine – This is mine.
- Yours – This is yours.
- His – This is his.
- Hers – This is hers.
- Its – This is its.
- Ours – This is ours.
- Theirs – This is theirs.
Possessive adjectives (dependent possessive pronouns): These are used before a noun to indicate who owns or is associated with it.
- My – This is my dog.
- Your – This is your dog.
- His – This is his dog.
- Her – This is her dog.
- Its – This is its collar.
- Our – This is our dog.
- Their – This is their dog.
Possessive forms of nouns
- Singular Nouns: Add an apostrophe followed by an ‘s’ (‘s).
Example: The cat’s tail (the tail belonging to the cat) - Plural Nouns Ending in ‘s’: Just add an apostrophe after the ‘s’.
Example: The cats’ tails (the tails belonging to multiple cats) - Plural Nouns Not Ending in ‘s’: Add an apostrophe followed by ‘s’ (‘s).
Example: The children’s toys (the toys belonging to the children) - Compound Nouns: The last word in the compound takes the possessive form. Example: My brother-in-law’s car
- Joint Possession: If two or more people possess something together, only the last name takes the possessive form. If they have possession separately, each name takes the possessive form.
Example: John and Mary’s house (they share the house)
Example: John’s and Mary’s houses (each has their own house)
Special Cases
- Animals, Organizations, Countries: Often treated with the possessive form, though sometimes there’s debate on usage: The dog’s bark / The company’s policy / India’s history
- Inanimate Objects: Some style guides prefer the “of” construction for inanimate objects for clarity, though possessive forms are widely used: The book’s cover vs. The cover of the book
- Time and Distance: Can be treated as possessive: A day’s work An hour’s delay
Tips
- Be consistent in your use of possessives within your writing or project.
- In spoken English, possessive forms are often indicated by context rather than explicit possessive markers.
- Watch out for contractions like “it’s” (it is or it has) which are not possessive forms.
Understanding and using possessives correctly can significantly clarify relationships and ownership in English sentences.
