‘s / ‘ / of are used to denote possession in English.

Form

‘s
  • used with singular nouns
  • used with plural nouns not ending in -s
  • used with compounds, the apostrophe comes after the last word
  • the girl’s earring, a child’s toy
  • women’s clothing, a children’s hospital
  • his mother-in-law’s house
‘used with plural nouns ending in –sladies‘ shoes, a students‘ union
‘ / ‘sused with names ending in –sMrs Jones‘ car / Mrs Jones ‘s car

Use

‘ / ‘sfor people, animalsJohn‘s phone, the dog‘s bone
 ships, boatsthe ship‘s surgeon
 time expressionsyesterday‘s paper, in four years‘ time
 places of business or residence (without the second noun)the butcher‘s, Claridge‘s, Ann‘s
offor thingsthe leg of the table
 for people when it involves a long sentencethe address of the couple we met in Thailand last year
‘ / ‘s / ofother vehiclesthe train‘s brakes / the brakes of the train
 organizationsthe government‘s policy / the policy of the government

Exercises

Possessives: ‘s of s’

  • exercise 1: fill in s-genitive (‘s)
  • exercise 2: fill in the correct form of the possessives (‘s or s’)
  • exercise 3: fill in the correct form of the possessives (‘s or s’)
  • exercise 4: choose the correct form of the possessives ( ‘s or s’)
  • exercise 5: fill in s-genitive (‘s)
  • exercise 6: fill in the correct form of the possessives ( ‘s on s’)
  • exercise 7: drag and drop exercise ( ‘s)
  • exercise 8: various exercises for practising the possessives ( ‘s or s’)

Possessives: ‘s / s’ / ‘ / of

  • exercise 1: fill in the correct form of the possessives (‘s, s’, ‘)
  • exercise 2: choose the correct form of the possessives (‘s, s’, of)
  • exercise 3: choose ‘s or of
  • exercise 4: make phrases with ‘s or of

Useful pages

  • exercises for practising possessive pronouns (my/ mine/ of mine etc.)
  • exercises for practising countable and uncountable nouns / singular and plural