‘s / ‘ / of are used to denote possession in English.
Form
| ‘s |
- used with singular verbs
- 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 –s | ladies‘ shoes, a students‘ union |
| ‘ / ‘s | used with names ending in –s | Mrs Jones‘ car / Mrs Jones‘s car |
Use
| ‘ / ‘s | people, animals | John‘s phone, the dog‘s bone |
| | ships, boats | the ship‘s surgeon |
| | time expressions | yesterday‘s paper, in four years‘ time |
| | places of business or residence (without the second noun) | the butcher‘s, Claridge‘s, Ann‘s |
| of | things | the leg of the table |
| | | the address of the couple we met in Thailand last year |
| ‘ / ‘s / of | other vehicles | the train‘s brakes / the brakes of the train |
| | organisations | the government‘s policy / the policy of the government |
Exercises
Possessives: ‘s or 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 or 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’, ‘ )
- 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
More useful pages
