Possessive Nouns for beginners

Possessive structures have many functions like showing ownership or belonging. With the help of apostrophe 's', we can make a possessive noun. Let's start!

"Possessive Nouns" in English Grammar

What Are Possessive Nouns?

To indicate that something belongs to someone or something, we use possessive nouns. This is often done by adding an apostrophe and the letter 's' ('s) to the end of a noun.

Mike has a car. The car belongs to Mike. This is Mike's car.
Kara has a doll. The doll belongs to Kara. This is Kara's doll.

To form a possessive noun, we start with the name of the owner, add an apostrophe and the letter 's' ('s), and then add the name of the thing or object.

Sam's car is fancy.

Here, it means that Sam has a car.

Hanna's cat is cute.

Here, it shows that Hannah has a pet cat.

Peter's sister is tall.

using 's to show possession

Tip!

'S can be added to both proper and common nouns. Here are some examples:

Kylie's friend is a singer.

His friend's hand is hurt.

Talking about Family Relationships

The ('s) does not only show possession, it can also be used to show relationships. Look at the examples below:

Nina's grandmother is too kind.

Peter's father is a dentist.

Possession with Singular and Plural Nouns

While (’s) is used after a singular noun, (') is used after a plural noun to form possessive nouns.

Singular Nouns Plural Nouns
The boy's car The boys' car
My dad's house My parents' house

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