Known as possessive -‘s, genitive -‘s or Saxon genitive. We use it to show that something
belongs to somebody. Read about the different uses in the boxes and do the exercises.
SINGULAR NOUNS
We add -‘s to a
singular noun:
the boy’s ball
the girl’s father
the pupil’s classroom
PLURAL NOUNS
We add an apostrophe
(‘) to a plural noun:
the boys’ ball
the girls’ father
the pupils’ classroom
IRREGULAR NOUNS
the child’s / children’s dog
the mouse’s / mice’s food
the man’s / men’s car
the hero’s / heroes’ fear
the wolf’s / wolves’ den
PROPER NOUNS (NAMES)
Both uses in the examples
are allowed:
Chris’ dog and/or Chris’s dog
Doris’ cat and/or Doris’s cat
BUT: Moses’ and Jesus’
Rewrite these using the genitive case
1. The father of my daughter. _____________________________________________________________________
2. The owner of the car. __________________________________________________________________________
3. He is the boss of my wife. _______________________________________________________________________
4. They are the children of my uncle. ________________________________________________________________
5. The car belongs to my sister. ____________________________________________________________________
6. The phone belongs to Louis. ____________________________________________________________________
7. The bike and bat is owned by my neighbor. ________________________________________________________
8. The writers of the books are Tom and Jerry. ________________________________________________________
9. My aunt is the one who owns the shop. ___________________________________________________________
10. The two women are the owners of the houses. _____________________________________________________
Make sentences in the genitive case using the pictures
1. _______________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________
6._______________________________________________________
7._______________________________________________________
8._______________________________________________________
9._______________________________________________________
-‘s vs of
We can use of instead of -‘s,
but -‘s is more usual and
natural:
the mother of my son
my son’s mother
Notice that the number of
balls does not matter. The
structure is influenced by
the possessor and not the
possessed.
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