Grammar Guide

What is it?

Possessive ’s shows that something belongs to a person, animal, group, or organization.

It is formed by adding ’s to a singular noun.

• Anna’s phone
• the dog’s food
• the company’s office

Possessive ’s can also show relationships and connections.

• Mark’s sister
• Sarah’s manager
• today’s meeting

When to use

Use possessive ’s to talk about:

• ownership: Tom’s car
• family relationships: Emma’s brother
• personal connections: Daniel’s friend
• animals: the cat’s tail
• organizations: the school’s website
• places and time expressions: Canada’s cities, tomorrow’s weather

Use of more often with things, especially when the phrase is long or formal.

• the door of the building
• the end of the film

In everyday English, possessive ’s is common with people, animals, organizations, places, and time.

Structure

Singular nouns

Add ’s to a singular noun.

Structure:

owner + ’s + thing or person

• Lisa’s laptop
• the teacher’s desk
• my friend’s house

Regular plural nouns ending in -s

Add only an apostrophe after the plural -s.

Irregular plural nouns

Add ’s to plural nouns that do not end in -s.

Two or more owners

Add ’s only to the final name when people share something.

• Anna and Tom’s apartment
• Jack and Mia’s children

Add ’s to each name when they own separate things.

• Anna’s and Tom’s cars
• Jack’s and Mia’s offices

Without repeating the noun

The noun after possessive ’s can be omitted when the meaning is clear.

• This phone is Sarah’s.
• We are meeting at John’s.
• My coat is black, and Emma’s is blue.

Examples

1. This is David’s bicycle.
2. My sister’s room is very tidy.
3. The children’s toys are on the floor.
4. Our neighbours’ garden is beautiful.
5. The cat’s food is in the kitchen.
6. The company’s website is unavailable.
7. Sarah and Ben’s apartment is downtown.
8. These are the teachers’ offices.
9. Tomorrow’s meeting starts at nine.
10. That jacket is Michael’s.

Exceptions

Singular names ending in -s can usually take ’s.

• James’s car
• Chris’s phone

Some style guides also accept only an apostrophe.

• James’ car
• Chris’ phone

Both forms may be correct, but James’s and Chris’s are common in modern English.

Possessive ’s has the same written form as the contractions of is and has.

• Anna’s tired. = Anna is tired.
• Anna’s finished. = Anna has finished.
• Anna’s bag is here. = The bag belongs to Anna.

The meaning depends on the word that follows.

Common mistakes

1. Incorrect: This is John car. Correct: This is John’s car. Explanation: Add ’s to a singular owner.

2. Incorrect: My parents’s house is large. Correct: My parents’ house is large. Explanation: Add only an apostrophe to a regular plural noun ending in -s.

3. Incorrect: The childrens’ toys are new. Correct: The children’s toys are new. Explanation: Children is an irregular plural, so add ’s.

4. Incorrect: This is the car of Sarah. Correct: This is Sarah’s car. Explanation: Possessive ’s is more natural for people.

5. Incorrect: Anna’s and Tom’s apartment is small. Correct: Anna and Tom’s apartment is small. Explanation: Add ’s only to the last name when they share one apartment.

6. Incorrect: The students books are here. Correct: The students’ books are here. Explanation: Add an apostrophe after a plural noun ending in -s.

7. Incorrect: This bag is my brother. Correct: This bag is my brother’s. Explanation: Use the possessive form when the noun after it is omitted.

8. Incorrect: The dog’s are outside. Correct: The dogs are outside. Explanation: Do not use an apostrophe to make a regular plural.