- English Grammar A1 Level - https://open.books4languages.com/english-a1-grammar -

Possessive Case

Introduction

The possessive case is used to talk about things that belong to a person or animal. We can even use it to show that one thing belongs to another.

Form

Possessive cases have three ways of formation:

  • in the singular form we add an apostrophe and a s (‘s) to singular nouns: catcat‘s;
  • in the plural form we add an apostrophe () to regular plural nouns: catscats;
  • in the irregular plural form we add an apostrophe and a s (‘s) to irregular plural nouns: peoplepeople‘s.

Example

  • This is my sister‘s room.
  • You can find my friend‘s number here.
  • This is my brothers’ car. 
  • My parents’ friends are nice. 
  • These children‘s mobile phones are missing.
  • She took these women‘s phone numbers.

Use

We use the possessive case when we talk about things that belong to a person or an animal, but we also use it to express relationships and physical characteristics of the subject.

Summary

The possessive case is used to talk about things that belong to a person or an animal, but also relationships and physical characteristics of the subject.

For example:
— Singular nouns, we add (-‘s): “The cat‘s ball is on the sofa.” = The ball belongs to one cat.
— Plural nouns, we add (): “The cats ball is on the sofa.” = The ball belongs to more than one cat.
— Irregular plural nouns, we add (-‘s): “The children‘s ball is on the sofa.” = Children is an irregular plural.

Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section which shows its use within a context.