Nouns have a possessive form which is used to show ownership. Such nouns are called possessive nouns. They show ownership by adding an apostrophe and an s ( 's ) or just an apostrophe to a noun.
Examples:
- That is Tom's cat. (Tom is the owner of the cat.)
- Who has taken my coffee cup’s cover?
- The child is pulling the cow's tail.
-
Everybody's
shoes must be left outside the door.
. - All the students like their professor's voice.
- The plane's tail section had broken off.
- This is the fifth failed attempt on the President's life.
- The information led to the arrest of the chairman’s kidnappers.
Apostrophe (') and an s ('s) after irregular plural noun to show possessive form.
Examples:
- He cut off the mice's tails.
- I stepped on one of the children’s toys and fell..
- They are renovating the elderly women's home.
- The group's latest song has topped the charts for two weeks.
Examples:
- Some girls' hair is shorter than some boys' hair.
- Their wives' parents shook each other warmly by the hand.
- The strong winds destroyed many of the villagers' houses.
- The lambs' tails are docked (= cut short) for hygiene reasons.
- I haven’t settled the last three months’ telephone bills.
- He had a three weeks' moustache growth drooping over his mouth.
- The holy books’ differences of the religions caused their followers to fight.
Apostrophe or no apostrophe after noun ends in s.
Possessive noun not followed by noun.
Examples:
- He went to the barber's to have his hair cut.
- She was at the butcher's when I called her.
- His pet dog’s tail is shorter than his cat’s.
- I met her queuing at Long and Short’s this morning.
- His stomach is bloated from excessive drinking, but his brother’s is flat.
Two possessive nouns one after the other.
Examples:
- She is Jim's twin brother's girlfriend.
- This is Tom's father's car.
- Every night, your TV is as loud as the neighbour’s dog’s nightly barking.
-
Jane's dog's
bushy tail wags furiously when she arrives home.
.
Apostrophe indicates joint ownership.
Examples:
-
On that hill is Jack and Jill's house.
(The house belongs to both Jack and Jill)
-
Paul and Paula's mother is a doctor. .
Apostrophes indicate different owners.
Examples:
-
Adam's and Eve's cars are parked one behind the other.
(There are two cars – one belongs to Adam while the other belongs to Eve.)
-
The police are keeping watch on the suspect's and his accomplice's houses
Examples:
- My father-in-law's car hit a van the other day.
If a compound noun includes a personal pronoun, all of them will have to be in the possessive form. This is done by adding the apostrophe s ( 's ) to the noun and making the pronoun a possessive personal pronoun.
- George's and my school is on the other side of the river.
- Take those that are Janet's and yours.
Examples:
- A big fat black crow perched on the roof of his house.
- (Not: A big fat black crow perched on his house’s roof.)
- Three fat passengers sat in the back of the car.
- (Not: Three fat passengers sat in the car’s back.)
- There is some dirt on the top of your desk.
- (Not: There is some dirt on your desk’s top.)
- The next morning, they reached the top of the mountain.
- (Not: The next morning, they reached the mountain’s top.)