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Possessive Nouns
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Possessive Nouns
To Possess means to own or to have, and that's exactly what these nouns are doing. Possessive nouns are those that show possession or ownership of another noun.
To Possess means to own or to have, and that’s exactly what these nouns are doing. Possessive nouns are those that show possession or ownership of another noun.
We use apostrophes to show possession in English. An apostrophe is a punctuation mark used to both show possession and make contractions. It looks like this:
Usually, to form a possessive, you add ’s to the end of the word.
| The boy’s shoes | John’s bike | Grandma’s book |
| Sherri’s old dog | Love’s triumph | Our son-in-law’s hat |
How Do You Make a Noun Possessive?
There are several rules to follow when making nouns possessive.
| Type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | Add ’s after the noun(doesn’t matter if it ends in S) | Hannah’s bike is on the porch.Chris’s car is parked on the road. |
| Plural (not ending in s) | Add ’s after the noun | The daughters-in-law’s gift was fun |
| Plural ending in s | Add only ’ (apostrophe) after the noun | The dogs’ toys are in the basket.The families’ houses were in a row. |
| Irregular Plural | Add ’s after the noun | The women’s books were past due.The mice’s cheese was on the trap. |
QUICK TIP!
When looking for Possessive nouns, keep an eye out for the apostrophe! It’s a dead giveaway that you’re possibly looking at a potential possessive. If it’s attached to a noun, chances are it’s a possessive noun!
