Possessive 's
Formula
Examples
Usage
- •Show possession (Tom's bag = the bag belongs to Tom)
- •Show relationships (my sister's husband)
- •Used mainly with people, animals, time expressions, and places
More Examples
My brother's birthday is in May.
When one person has something
The teachers' meeting is on Friday.
Plural noun ending in -s: apostrophe ONLY
The women's department is upstairs.
Irregular plural: -'s
Today's newspaper is on the table.
's with time expressions
James's book / James' book
Names ending in -s: both forms accepted
Common Mistakes
- ✗Confusing it's (it is) with its (possessive): "It's tail" should be "Its tail" (no apostrophe for possessive its).
- ✗Using 's for plurals (greengrocer's apostrophe): "Apple's for sale" should be "Apples for sale".
- ✗Putting apostrophe in wrong place for plurals: "The boy's room" (1 boy) vs "The boys' room" (multiple).
Tips
- ✓'s with people/animals: Tom's book ✓. For objects, prefer "of": "the leg of the table" sounds more natural than "the table's leg".
- ✓Position of 's changes meaning: "my friend's house" (1 friend) vs "my friends' house" (multiple friends).
Advanced Notes
The possessive 's is more versatile than "belonging to" — it covers relationships ("my doctor's advice"), origin ("yesterday's news"), measurement ("a moment's peace"), and characteristics ("the film's ending"). It's primarily used with animate nouns (people, animals) and time expressions; for inanimate objects, "of" is often preferred ("the back of the car" not "the car's back"), though this rule is loosening in modern usage. The misplaced apostrophe in plurals ("apple's", "photo's") is called the greengrocer's apostrophe and is widespread even among native writers.
Compare With
Other A2 Topics
Present Continuous
Used for actions happening now or temporary situations
Past Continuous
Used for interrupted past actions or background description
Future with Going to
Used for decided plans and evidence-based predictions
Comparatives and Superlatives
Used for comparing qualities between items or identifying the extreme
Prepositions of Time and Place
Used for time and location relationships using in, on, at
Can / Could
Expresses ability, possibility, or polite requests
Adverbs of Frequency
Used for stating how often something happens
Quantifiers: Some, Any, Much, Many, A Lot Of
Used for unspecified quantities in positive, negative, and question contexts
Basic Linkers: And, But, Or, Because, So
Used for connecting ideas within or between sentences
Object Pronouns: Me, You, Him, Her, It, Us, Them
Used for replacing nouns as the object of a verb or preposition