Possessive Nouns in English Grammar

Possessive Nouns

Definition

• A possessive noun is a noun that shows ownership or possession of something.
• It indicates that something belongs to someone or something else.

Types

• Individual possessive nouns: show possession by one person or entity (e.g., John's book)
• Plural possessive nouns: show possession by more than one person or entity (e.g., the students' books)
• Compound possessive nouns: show possession by a compound noun (e.g., the mother-in-law's car)

Formation Rules

• Singular nouns: add 's to form the possessive (e.g., cat -> cat's)
• Plural nouns that end in -s: add only an apostrophe (e.g., cats -> cats')
• Plural nouns that do not end in -s: add 's (e.g., children -> children's)
• Irregular nouns: follow special rules (e.g., mouse -> mouse's, but men -> men's)

Pronouns

• Possessive pronouns: replace possessive nouns and show ownership (e.g., mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs)
• Possessive adjectives: describe the noun and show ownership (e.g., my, your, his, her, its, our, their)
• Key differences: possessive pronouns stand alone, while possessive adjectives describe a noun.

Possessive Nouns

• A possessive noun is a noun that shows ownership or possession of something, indicating that something belongs to someone or something else.

Types of Possessive Nouns

• Individual possessive nouns show possession by one person or entity (e.g., John's book)
• Plural possessive nouns show possession by more than one person or entity (e.g., the students' books)
• Compound possessive nouns show possession by a compound noun (e.g., the mother-in-law's car)

Formation Rules for Possessive Nouns

• Singular nouns form the possessive by adding 's (e.g., cat -> cat's)
• Plural nouns that end in -s form the possessive by adding only an apostrophe (e.g., cats -> cats')
• Plural nouns that do not end in -s form the possessive by adding 's (e.g., children -> children's)
• Irregular nouns follow special rules (e.g., mouse -> mouse's, but men -> men's)

Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives

• Possessive pronouns replace possessive nouns and show ownership (e.g., mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs)
• Possessive adjectives describe the noun and show ownership (e.g., my, your, his, her, its, our, their)
• Key difference: possessive pronouns stand alone, while possessive adjectives describe a noun.

Forming Possessive Nouns

• Singular nouns form possessive by adding 's (e.g., cat → cat's)
• Exception: singular nouns ending in -s, -z, -sh, -ch, or -x add only an apostrophe (e.g., bus → bus')

Plural Nouns

• Plural nouns ending in -s form possessive by adding only an apostrophe (e.g., cats → cats')
• Plural nouns not ending in -s form possessive by adding 's (e.g., children → children's)
• Irregular plural nouns follow the same rules as singular nouns (e.g., men → men's, women → women's)

Possessive Pronouns

• Show ownership and replace nouns
• Examples: mine, yours, hers, its, ours, theirs
• Possessive pronouns do not change form, unlike nouns and adjectives