The possessive can express a relationship between people. It shows a relationship of belonging between one thing and another. When a plural noun ends with an "s," simply add an apostrophe to make it … To make a singular noun possessive, add an apostrophe and s. the book of the teacher the teachers book To make a regular plural noun possessive, just add an apostrophe. When placed in the heat, its color changes. Nouns become possessive once they are changed to show ownership. (I am dismissing the possessive form.) The keys of Mike (The keys belong to Mike.) It doesn't matter if we are talking about one house or many houses here; 'my' is used with both. We visited St. Jude's Church in Kensington. In other words, you should never see the word his’s, their’s, ours’, etc. the possessive: the form of a word that shows possession or belonging The possessive of “it” is “its.” [+] more examples [-] hide examples [+] Example sentences [-] Hide examples Its as a Possessive "Its" is the possessive version of the pronoun "it." the Smiths's house (or the Smiths' house), America has some gold reserves. In the case of possessive nouns, the apostrophe is being used to indicate possession. Wellbeing or Well-Being – Which is Correct? These words are possessive nouns in a sense, but they do not need an apostrophe or the letter “s” added to them to make them possessive. 'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is the most common relationship the possessive expresses. Examples: The car of the man (The car belongs to the man.) Adjective clauses are used to describe a noun in the main sentence. Names are pluralized like regular words. In the case of contractions, the apostrophe is being used to indicate the omission of letters. 99 examples: The remaining episodes concerned subject omission (5.5%), locative… possessive with gerunds A gerund is a verb form ending in ing, such as being, doing, having, going, reading or writing. Possessive pronouns include my, mine, our, ours, its, his, her, hers, their, theirs, your and yours. Ask yourself if the adjective clause requires a subject, object, or possessive form. The noun does not influence the possessive adjective, so we can use the same possessive adjective with both singular and plural nouns: This is my house. These are two different concepts that shouldn’t be confused. As you might expect, a plural possessive noun is a plural noun that is made to be possessive. Possessive adjectives are used instead of possessive nouns when the reference is understood. * Rule #1 for plural nouns. What is a possessive noun? Definition of possessive noun: A possessive noun is one that shows ownership. Don’t is a contraction for do not. What is a Possessive Noun? To make plural nouns not ending in “s” possessive, add an apostrophe + s. To make names that end in “s” possessive, you can either add an apostrophe at the end, or you may add an apostrophe + s. In addition to possessive nouns, there are also possessive pronouns. The noun or pronoun in front of the gerund shows who or what is doing the action. For example, a gerund can be the subject or object of a verb or the object of a preposition: https://writingexplained.org/grammar-dictionary/possessive-noun The room of the girls = The girls’ room. Apostrophes are used to show possession. The boat of the sailors = The sailors’ boat. Example: We had lunch at Smiths'. The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. "a book") and even intangible things (e.g. 6) The bus driver's hat was crooked. This is the subject of the gerund and takes the possessive form. Possessive Adjectives – Definition and Examples Also called possessive determiners, possessive adjectives refer to words which modify a noun by showing a form of possession or a sense of belonging to a particular person or thing. Hopefully, this activity will facilitate mastery. In English, apostrophes are used to indicate two things: possession or the omission of letters. College/university students & young adults. Janet’s car needed to be washed after taking it across the country. If the noun is plural, or already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s. For names ending in s, you can either add an apostrophe + s, or just an apostrophe. Rule 1: In general, you form a possessive singular noun (both proper and common) by adding an apostrophe and the letter S to the end of the word. What to Know. Using Possessives before Gerunds. Examples of possessive nouns in a sentence: 1) Mark's dog is a Labrador retriever. How to use possessive in a sentence. To form the possessive, add apostrophe + s to the noun. Instead, it acts as a noun and can do whatever a noun can do. The trees’ leaves began to change colors as summer transformed into fall. If the noun is plural, or already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s. In the example above, the adjective clause tells us about "the man." Here are some basic examples of possessive pronouns used in sentences: The kids are yours and mine. Add 's after the possessor. Examples of possessive in a sentence, how to use it. If the possessive involves a last name ending with "s" or "z," you can add either. It fits the pattern. Definition, Examples of Possessive Nouns. What is a Singular Possessive Noun? Forming possessive nouns: Possessive nouns begin as simple nouns and must be changed in order to show possession. POSSESSIVE FORM The possessive form is used to indicate ownership. Home » The Writer’s Dictionary » What is a Possessive Noun? Just ignore the main sentence and look at the adjective clause when deciding whether to use "who," "whom" or "whose." The shoes of the man (The man owns the shoes.) These are my houses. A noun is commonly defined as a person, place, thing, idea, or quality. The possessive is also used to refer to shops, restaurants, churches and colleges, using the name or job title of the owner. Possessive definition is - of, relating to, or constituting a word, a word group, or a grammatical case that denotes ownership or a relation analogous to ownership. Other examples For God's sake! Some sentence examples of "its" used as a possessive include: Learn the rules of the possessive ’s in English grammar with Lingolia’s online lesson. Beside above, what is the verb of possession? * Again, emphasizing that there are 2 rules for plural nouns. Clothes for men = Men’s clothes. * Plural nouns that end in s. * Examples … The possessive can also express where someone works, studies or spends time. There are a few different ways to form the possessive of a noun. Examples of nouns would be 'teacher' and 'horse.' I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'possessive adjectives to plurals'. To form the possessive, add apostrophe + s to the noun. possessive form of plural nouns examples, Fun Singular and Plural Possessive Nouns A possessive noun shows ownership. Possessive Nouns with Inanimate Objects As you can see from some of the examples above (e.g., "a book's pages," "a day's pay"), it is possible for inanimate things (e.g. Examples: I studied at St. Stephen's. "a day") to possess objects from a grammatical perspective. For example, the possessive form of "dog" is "dog's" (as in "the dog's teeth" or "the dog's ball"). We have two Zacharys in our office.” Why would the proper noun “County” be changed to “Counties” in this example? In Mandarin Chinese, the possessive determiner and possessive pronoun take the same form as each other: the form associated with wǒ ("I") is wǒ de ("my", "mine"), where de is the possessive particle. Introduction. There are also some fixed expressions where the possessive form is used: Time expressions. What is a Plural Possessive Noun? One of you is half-right: “counties” does not show possession. When pronouncing a possessive name, we add the sound /z/ to the end of the name. Examples: I visited the Murphys last weekend. The possessive form is not limited to people; animals and even inanimate objects can also, technically, possess something, like qualities, for example. As some of our above examples show, inanimate objects can take the possessive form to show ownership. There are also some fixed expressions where the possessive form is used. (= exclamation of exasperation) a stone's throw away (= very near) at death's door (= very ill) in my mind's eye (= in my imagination) 4) The girl's bookbags were left on the gym floor during class. If you were to see a bird building a nest, you’d be correct to say that it is the bird’s nest. The sister of Charles = Charles‘ sister. (= exclamation of exasperation). A possessive used in this way is called a substantive possessive pronoun or an absolute pronoun. We use the possessive form of a noun when we want to show ownership by that noun. Although it is a verb form, a gerund does not act as a verb. Some languages use the same word for both the possessive determiner and the matching possessive pronoun. Definition, Examples of Possessive Nouns. For example: Tom is a … When indicating the possessive, if there is more than one owner add an apostrophe to the plural; if there is one owner, add 's to the singular (The Smiths' car vs. Smith's car). The first option is more common. Here the possessive form serves as an adjective or determiner, and may be called a possessive adjective, possessive determiner or adjectival possessive pronoun. Possessive nouns, also known as the possessive case, expresses ownership.It shows a relationship of possession between two nouns. © EF Education First 2020. The possessive case shows ownership. The house is theirs and its paint is flaking. Define possessive noun: Possessive nouns are nouns that show ownership. A singular possessive noun is simply a singular noun made possessive. Possessives in English are formed according to a set of rules. To form the possessive of a plural noun that does not end in s or es, add an apostrophe plus s to the … The possessive can express intangible things as well. In everyday English, however, we generally use possessive nouns and possessive adjectives rather than this "of" form. Examples. Possessive Adjectives. It’s also important to note that nouns do not have to be people to show possession. With the addition of ’s (or sometimes just the apostrophe), a noun can change from a simple person, place, or thing to a person, place, or thing that owns something. The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. Explore possessives grammar rules, and get tips for teaching possessives. possessive form of plural nouns examples, The learning of possessive nouns is a very difficult process for 7th grade students. 3) Are we going to the Smith's house? - Tom's car - The cat's tail. "Its," however, doesn't have an apostrophe when it is used as a possessive. To make singular nouns possessive, you simply add an apostrophe + s. To make plural nouns ending in “s” possessive, an apostrophe is added to the end. 5) I was sorry to find out that Tom's cat died. The legs of the chair (The legs are part of the chair.) The apostrophe in this sentence is showing us that the speaker belongs to Jim. The possessive plural is often confused with the singular possessive form because the word in question typically already contains an -s, as is the case with “clients.” This article will use client’s and clients’ to look at the possessive and the possessive plural and how they differ from one another. Their family was always a source of embarrassment at the reunion. 2) My sister's phone is lost. The car of John = John’s car. As you can see, these words already indicate possession, so there is no need to add an apostrophe or the letter “s.”. Learn how to form possessives in sentences. Mom is at the neurologist's. Add -es for names ending in "s" or "z" and add -s for everything else. Without an accompanying noun, as in mine is red, I prefer yours, this book is his. “We are happy to help. Taking a vacation every summer was Jason’s highlight of the year. To form the possessive case, we add -’s or sometimes just an apostrophe (’) to a noun. Other expressions. Plural Possessive Nouns. It shows a relationship of belonging between one thing and another. Therefore, somewhat understandably, many think that the possessive form of "it" should be "it's." Instead, possessive pronouns are by their very nature are in the possessive form. Glamor or Glamour – What’s the Difference? We’ll discuss these ways below. Here is a brief summary: Rule: Example: Singular Nouns : (even if the meaning is plural or if there are several words.) = They are, For God's sake! Many people find this confusing because possessives normally have an apostrophe (for example Joe's cookies or everyone's lunch). All rights reserved. We can also use the preposition of to express possession.. In this sentence, the apostrophe is indicating the omission of the letter “o” from the contraction don’t.