1.
Possessives: nouns
Level: beginner
We add 's to singular nouns to show possession:
We are having a party at John's house.
Michael drove his friend's car.
We add ' to plural nouns ending in -s:
This is my parents' house.
Those are ladies' shoes.
But we use 's with irregular plural nouns:
men women children peo
These are men's shoes.
Children's clothes are very expensive.
We can use a possessive instead of a full noun phrase to avoid repeating
words:
Is that John's car?
No, it's Mary's. (NOT No, it's Mary's [car].)
Whose coat is this?
It's my wife's. (NOT It's my wife's [coat].)
2. Possessives: adjectives
Level: beginner
Subject Object Possessive adjective
I me my
you you your
he him his
she her her
it it its
we us our
Subject Object Possessive adjective
they them their
We use possessive adjectives:
to show something belongs to somebody:
That's our house.
My car is very old.
for relations and friends:
My mother is a doctor.
How old is your sister?
for parts of the body:
He's broken his arm.
She's washing her hair.
I need to clean my teeth.
Possessives: adjectives
Be careful!
The possessive adjective its does not have an apostrophe ('):
That bird has broken its (NOT it's) wing.
(it's always means it is or it has.)
3. Possessives: pronouns
Level: beginner
Subject Object Possessive adjective Possessive p
I me my mine
you you your yours
he him his his
she her her hers
it it its -
Subject Object Possessive adjective Possessive p
we us our ours
they them their theirs
Be careful!
Possessive pronouns do not have an apostrophe:
Is that car yours/hers/ours/theirs?
(NOT Is that car your's/her's/our's/their's?)
We can use a possessive pronoun instead of a full noun phrase to avoid
repeating words:
Is that John's car?
No, it's mine. (NOT No, it's [my car].)
Whose coat is this?
Is it yours? (NOT Is it [your coat]?)
Her coat is grey.
Mine is brown. (NOT [My coat] is brown.)
Possessives: pronouns 1
Level: intermediate
We can use possessive pronouns and nouns after of. We can say:
Susan is one of my friends. > Susan is a friend of mine.
(NOT Susan is a friend of me.)
I am one of Susan's friends. > I am a friend of Susan's.
(NOT I am a friend of Susan.)
4.Possessives: questions
We use whose to ask questions about possession:
Pattern A Pattern B
Whose coat is this? or Whose is this coat?
Whose book is that? or Whose is that book?
Whose pens are those? or Whose are those pens?
Whose bags are those? or Whose are those bags?
Be careful!
Be careful not to confuse whose and who's (= who is). They are pronounced in the same
differently:
Whose coat is this?
Who's (= Who is) Stefan?
5. Possessives: reciprocal pronouns
Level: intermediate
When two or more people do the same thing, we can use
the possessive forms of the reciprocal pronouns each other’s and one
another’s:
They helped to look after each other’s children.
