Look at these examples to see how we use possessive 's.
Mohammed is my brother's son.
My grandpa's beard is white.
This is my grandparents' house.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We can use possessive 's to talk about the relationship between people or to say who owns something. Possessive 's always comes after a noun or a name.
We often use possessive 's or s' when we talk about family and friends.
Grandma and Grandpa are my mum's parents.
Maria's best friend is Juanita.
My cousins' birthdays are both in January.
We can also use it to say that something belongs to someone.
That's Roberto's flat. He's got a flat in the city centre.
Kim's hair is very long. She's got long, black hair.
My parents' garden is beautiful. They grow a lot of flowers.
When it is one person who owns something, we usually use 's.
Our friend's car is red. She loves it.
Simon's phone is new. He bought it yesterday.
Can you see Amira's keys? She can't find them.
It is possible to use more than one possessive in a phrase.
We had lunch at my friend's father's house.
If a name or noun ends in s, we can add either ' or 's. The pronunciation can be /zɪz/ or /sɪz/.
Is that James' bag?
That's my boss's office.
If the thing belongs to more than one person, we usually add ' after the s of the plural noun.
Our friends' house is in the mountains. They moved there last year.
My grandparents' dog is called Bertie.
The twins' school is closed today.
If the plural noun is irregular and doesn't end in s, we add 's.
This is our children's school.
The women's clothes are on the second floor.
A lot of people's eyes are brown.
If something belongs to more than one person, and we give a list of names, the 's comes after the last name in the list.
Liam is Anne and Gary's son.
Remember that s at the end of a word without an apostrophe (') can make it plural, but this doesn't show possession.
I've got two brothers.
Are those your keys?
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello.
What I would like to know is how you pronounce the dresses' in the phrase dresses' hems. Do you add an /ız/ to it because it is in the possessive case?
Thanks.
Hello Sefika,
The pronunciation of the possessive form is the same as the plural form: /dresız/.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear teacher,
Please kindly advise which of the following is correct and why:
I am 7 years old and my school's name is ABC.
Thank you very much!
Hello boboyogo,
The second sentence is correct. We use a possessive form (here: 's) when we are talking about something belonging to another thing. Here, the name belongs to the school, so we say 'my school's name'. Another way to say this is 'the name of my school'.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello
What about :
Our friends' flat is very big. They have five bedrooms!
Why did we use s' instead of 's ?
Hello Inass Kamal,
We use s' when the noun is plural, so here it means that the flat belongs to more than one friend.
our friend's flat - the flat belongs to one friend
our friends' flat - the flat belongs to/is shared by more than one friend
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Is it grammatically correct to indicate possession in the following manner:
"Lauren her studies are going well."
"Did you follow doctor Smith his orders?"
"My mum her house is old."
My friend keeps on using sentences like this and I am wondering is it perhaps something from older English or simply incorrect?
Hello emmio,
No, those sentences are not correct. Your friend should use a possessive 's:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello
Could you please help me to understan if we can say "today's quote". Or "Today's dinner is pizza"?
Can we use Possessive 's not with people
Hello .Mariia,
Yes, we can use the possessive 's with any noun and those examples are perfectly good. Well done!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team