Possessives
Use possessive 's and s', and the possessive adjectives my, your, his, her, its, our and their.
Explanation
The possessive 's' is used to show ownership or possession. It is added to a noun to indicate that something belongs to that noun.
Singular Nouns: For singular nouns, we add 's to the end of the noun.
Example: The girl's hat is blue. (The hat belongs to the girl.)
Plural Nouns: For plural nouns, if the noun already ends in 's', we add only an apostrophe (').
Example: The cats' toys are in the basket. (The toys belong to the cats.)
For plural nouns that do not end in 's', we add 's to the end of the noun. Example: The children's books are on the shelf. (The books belong to the children.)
Nouns ending in 's': For nouns that end in 's' but are singular, we add an apostrophe (') after the 's'.
Example: James' car is in the parking lot. (The car belongs to James.)
Possessive adjectives are used to indicate ownership or possession of something.
- My - It indicates possession by the speaker. For example, "This is my car."
- Your - It indicates possession by the person or people being spoken to. For example, "Is this your bag?"
- His - It indicates possession by a male singular person. For example, "I like his new haircut."
- Her - It indicates possession by a female singular person. For example, "She loves her job."
- Its - It indicates possession by a non-living object or animal. For example, "The dog wagged its tail."
- Our - It indicates possession by a group of people including the speaker. For example, "Our team won the championship."
- Their - It indicates possession by a group of people not including the speaker. For example, "They brought their own food."
Remember! Possessive adjectives are used before a noun to show who possesses or owns the object.
Practice
Exercise 1
Choose the correct answer to complete the sentence.
1. The cat is playing with ______ tail.
2. This is ______ book.
3. Can you pass me ______ bag?
4. They are going to visit ______ grandparents.
5. I can't find ______ keys.
6. The dog wagged ______ tail.
7. Mark's sister is a doctor. ______ profession is admirable.
8. The birds built ______ nest on the tree.
9. Please keep ______ voice down.
10. The students handed in ______ assignments.
Exercise 2