Possessives

Possessive – ’s

• We use apostrophes (’s), also called possessive – ’s, as a determiner to show that something belongs to someone or something:
  • Is this Maria’s bag?
  • Dubai’s buildings and structures are absolutely amazing.
• We can also use it in complex noun phrases (underlined):
  • Ben is her youngest daughter’s husband.
• We can use two possessive –’s constructions in the same noun phrase:
  • We went to Peter’s father’s farmhouse.
• We also use possessive’s to talk about time and duration:
  • Is that yesterday’s paper?
  • My family and I had two week’s vacation in Europe.

Rules for using possessive – ’s/s’

• We use’s after a singular noun and  ’ after a plural noun.

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• We use ’s with irregular plural nouns (e.g. children, men, people, women):
  • The children’s parents support them well.
  • The government  protects women’s rights.
• The rules for the pronunciation of a noun with’s are the same as the rules for pronunciation of plural forms of nouns.

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• When a first or second name ends in -s, we can either add ’ or ’s. It is more common to use ’ than ’s. When we speak, we usually pronounce the final part of the word as /zɪz/ or /sɪz/:

ex. Is that James’car? (or Is that James’s car?) (both usually pronounced /ˈdʒeɪmzɪz/)

    I love Keats’ poetry.(or I love Keats’s poetry.) (both usually pronounced /ˈki:tsɪz/

• With compound nouns, we add’s to the final noun:

 ex. My brother-in-law’s friend was introduced to us.  Not: My brother’s-in-law friend

• We don’t usually use the possessive’s with things:

        ex. the door handle  Not: the door’s handle

             the shop window  Not: the shop’s window

            the kitchen table  Not:the kitchen’s table

Spoken English:

• When we talk about places which are familiar to the speaker and the listener, we sometimes don’t use the noun after possessive’s:

         the hairdresser’s salon – the hairdresser’s

        the dentist’s clinic – the dentist’s

       We had to take our dog to the vet’s for some vaccines.  (the same as: We had to take our dog to the vet’s clinic for some vaccines.)

      Do you go shopping in Marks and Spencer’s?

      We decided to go to Eric’s after school. ( the same as: We decided to go to Eric’s house after school.)

• In short answers, we can omit the noun if it is not necessary to repeat it:

       A: Is that your car?

       B: No, it’s Sandra’s.

• We use possessive’s with words such as one, anyone, someone, anybody, somebody:

         It’s essential to be aware of  one’s rights.

         Is this  someone’s umbrella?

• When we use  else with these words, the ’s is added to else:

         Why didn’t you come?   Everyone else’s husband was there