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Grammar
1. Possessives
Possessives show
who or what something belongs to - they show
possession.
Most nouns can be
made possessive simply by adding 's.
For example:
- The restaurant's food is very good.
- David Beckham's right foot is excellent.
- You can eat an apple's skin.
If the noun is plural
and ends in "s", you add just '.
For example:
girls is plural and ends in "s"
so:'
- The girls' books are interesting. (The girls's
books are interesting)
children is plural but doesn't end in "s"
so we just add 's as normal:
- The children's boks are interesting.
boss ends in "s" but is not
plural, so again just add 's.
- The boss's office is very big.
This can however look and sound awkward, so
you can sometimes just use ' instead.
For example with names:
Thomas's book, Tess's house can also
be Thomas' book, Tess' house.
The basic rule is;
if the noun is plural and ends in "s"
add ' - otherwise just add 's.
2. Possessive
Adjectives
Here are the possessive
adjectives with example sentences. Notice that
possessive adjectives come before the noun.
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Possessive
Adjective
My
Your (singular)
Her
His
Our
Your (plural)
Their
Its
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Uncountable
This is my
book
Your car looks great.
Her watch is expensive.
His house is on Chamber Street.
Our dog is cute.
Your friends are nice.
This is their ball.
The cat likes its food.
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3. Possessive
Pronouns
Here are the possessive
pronouns with example sentences. Notice they
never come before nouns.
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Possessive
Pronoun
My
Your (singular)
Her
His
Our
Your (plural)
Their
Its
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Uncountable
This book is
mine.
That car is yours.
Theexpensive watch is hers.
The house on Chamber Street
is his.
The cute dog is ours.
Those friends are yours.
This ball is theirs.
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There is no possessive
pronoun for its, so you cannot say "The
book is its". Also possessive pronouns
often come at the end of sentences and are usually
stressed. "This is my book" can
have a fairly factual meaning, but "This
book is mine" stresses more strongly
whose book it is.
Now try and put it
all into practice!
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