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Possesives

The document discusses different types of possessives in English including possessives with nouns, adjectives, pronouns, questions, and reciprocal pronouns. Possessives are used to show ownership or possession of something and come in various forms depending on whether the possessor is a singular or plural noun, pronoun, or other part of speech.

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Monica Adina Banea
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22 views8 pages

Possesives

The document discusses different types of possessives in English including possessives with nouns, adjectives, pronouns, questions, and reciprocal pronouns. Possessives are used to show ownership or possession of something and come in various forms depending on whether the possessor is a singular or plural noun, pronoun, or other part of speech.

Uploaded by

Monica Adina Banea
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1.

Possessives: nouns

Level: beginner
We add 's to singular nouns to show possession:
We are having a party at John's house.
Michael drove his friend's car.
We add ' to plural nouns ending in -s:
This is my parents' house.
Those are ladies' shoes.
But we use 's with irregular plural nouns:

men women children peo

These are men's shoes.


Children's clothes are very expensive.
We can use a possessive instead of a full noun phrase to avoid repeating
words:
Is that John's car?
No, it's Mary's. (NOT No, it's Mary's [car].)
Whose coat is this?
It's my wife's. (NOT It's my wife's [coat].)

2. Possessives: adjectives

Level: beginner
Subject Object Possessive adjective

I me my

you you your

he him his

she her her

it it its

we us our
Subject Object Possessive adjective

they them their

We use possessive adjectives:

 to show something belongs to somebody:

That's our house.


My car is very old.

 for relations and friends:

My mother is a doctor.
How old is your sister?

 for parts of the body:

He's broken his arm.


She's washing her hair.
I need to clean my teeth.
Possessives: adjectives

Be careful!

The possessive adjective its does not have an apostrophe ('):


That bird has broken its (NOT it's) wing.
(it's always means it is or it has.)
3. Possessives: pronouns

Level: beginner

Subject Object Possessive adjective Possessive p

I me my mine

you you your yours

he him his his

she her her hers

it it its -
Subject Object Possessive adjective Possessive p

we us our ours

they them their theirs

Be careful!

Possessive pronouns do not have an apostrophe:


Is that car yours/hers/ours/theirs?
(NOT Is that car your's/her's/our's/their's?)

We can use a possessive pronoun instead of a full noun phrase to avoid


repeating words:
Is that John's car?
No, it's mine. (NOT No, it's [my car].)
Whose coat is this?
Is it yours? (NOT Is it [your coat]?)
Her coat is grey.
Mine is brown. (NOT [My coat] is brown.)

Possessives: pronouns 1
Level: intermediate
We can use possessive pronouns and nouns after of. We can say:
Susan is one of my friends. > Susan is a friend of mine.
(NOT Susan is a friend of me.)
I am one of Susan's friends. > I am a friend of Susan's.
(NOT I am a friend of Susan.)

4.Possessives: questions

We use whose to ask questions about possession:

Pattern A Pattern B

Whose coat is this? or Whose is this coat?

Whose book is that? or Whose is that book?

Whose pens are those? or Whose are those pens?

Whose bags are those? or Whose are those bags?


Be careful!

Be careful not to confuse whose and who's (= who is). They are pronounced in the same
differently:
Whose coat is this?
Who's (= Who is) Stefan?

5. Possessives: reciprocal pronouns

Level: intermediate
When two or more people do the same thing, we can use
the possessive forms of the reciprocal pronouns each other’s and one
another’s:
They helped to look after each other’s children.

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