Possessive Nouns

Possessive nouns are nouns that show “relationships”

1. Possessive nouns can be used to show 'belonging to' or 'ownership'.

Examples:

This is Jill’s house. (Jill owns the house)

They were not able to find Paul’s shoes. (The shoes belong to Paul)

The cat’s dish is empty.

The lamp's base is broken.

2. Possessive nouns can show where someone works or studies or spends time.

Examples:

I went to Jack’s school.

Put this box in Colin’s office.

3. Possessive nouns can indicate family relationships

Examples:

Gordon’s mother is a dentist.

He went with Brian’s brother.

General Rules for Forming Possessive Nouns

Rule 1:

Add an apostrophe s (‘s) to form the possessive of singular nouns. This rule also applies to singular nouns ending in s.

Examples:

Rule 2:

Add an apostrophe s (‘s) to form the possessive of plural nouns that do not end with s.

Rule 3:

Add an apostrophe (‘) to form the possessive of plural nouns that end with s.

Rule 4:

For the names of people that end with s, add an apostrophe s (‘s) or apostrophe (‘). (Both methods are acceptable)

Rule 5:

Add an apostrophe s (‘s) or apostrophe (‘) to the end of a compound noun.

Videos

Possessive Nouns

Possessive Singular Nouns and Possessive Plural Nouns
Separate and Joint ownership


Grammar Tip – Possessive Noun
Here's how to use the apostrophe to make nouns possessive. It's really not difficult once you memorize the few simple rules in this video.

Basic Punctuations – How to use Apostrophe
This video gives some examples of how to use the apostrophe for possessive pronouns.

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