Possessive 's | ESL Master

Showing Who Owns What

In English, we have two main ways to show that something belongs to someone:

Way	Example
Apostrophe `'s`	`Maria's book`
The word `of`	`the leg of the table`

We also use possessive determiners like my, your, his, her, its, our, and their — but those don’t take an apostrophe.

This lesson focuses on the apostrophe 's and when to use it.

Singular Nouns: Add `'s`

For one person, animal, or thing, add 's (apostrophe + s).

Maria's book (the book belongs to Maria)

my brother's car

the cat's tail

the doctor's office

the city's mayor

This works even when the singular name ends in s.

Chris's pen

James's idea

Some style guides allow Chris' instead of Chris's. Both are accepted in modern English.

Plural Nouns Ending in `s`: Add Just `'`

For more than one noun ending in s, add only an apostrophe after the s.

my parents' house (the house belongs to my parents)

the boys' room (more than one boy)

the dogs' bowls (more than one dog)

the students' books

Singular (one)	Plural (many)
`the boy's bike`	`the boys' bikes`
`the cat's food`	`the cats' food`
`my friend's car`	`my friends' cars`

Plural Nouns NOT Ending in `s`: Add `'s`

Some plurals do not end in s. For these, add 's like a singular.

Plural	Possessive
children	`children's toys`
men	`men's clothing`
women	`women's bags`
people	`people's lives`

When to Use `of` Instead

For people and animals, use 's. For things, we more often use of.

People / animals (use `'s`)	Things (use `of`)
`my sister's room`	`the door of the room`
`the dog's tail`	`the leg of the chair`
`Tom's idea`	`the end of the film`
`my parents' house`	`the top of the page`

In modern English, we sometimes use 's with things too — especially for places, organizations, and time periods: London's parks, the company's website, today's news.

Possessive Determiners

These come before a noun. They do not take an apostrophe.

Subject pronoun	Possessive determiner	Example
I	`my`	`my book`
you	`your`	`your book`
he	`his`	`his book`
she	`her`	`her book`
it	`its`	`its food`
we	`our`	`our books`
they	`their`	`their books`

That is my pen.

Where is your bag?

The dog ate its food.

This is our house.

Possessive determiners never have apostrophes. The word its (no apostrophe) is the possessive form. The word it's (with apostrophe) means “it is”.

Wrong	Right
`your's`	`your`
`his'`	`his`
`it's tail` (= `it is tail`?)	`its tail`
`their's`	`their`

Joint Possession

When two people share something, put 's only on the second name.

Anna and Tom's house (they share one house)

When they each own their own, put 's on both.

Anna's and Tom's books (each has their own books)

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Better	Why
`the book of Maria`	`Maria's book`	For people, use `'s`, not `of`.
`the car of my father`	`my father's car`	Same — use `'s` for people.
`Marias book`	`Maria's book`	Don’t forget the apostrophe.
`the boys's bikes` (5 boys)	`the boys' bikes`	Plural nouns ending in `s` take only an apostrophe after the s.
`the childrens' toys`	`the children's toys`	`Children` doesn’t end in `s` — add `'s`.
`it's tail`	`its tail`	`Its` (possessive) has no apostrophe. `It's` = `it is`.
`your's`	`yours`	Possessive pronouns and determiners never have apostrophes.

Practice: Exercises

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Choose the correct sentence.

Summary

To show possession in English, add 's to a singular noun (or a plural that doesn’t end in s): Maria's book, the children's toys.

For plural nouns ending in s, add only an apostrophe: the boys' room, my parents' car.

For people and animals, use 's. For things, prefer of: the leg of the chair, the end of the film.

Possessive determiners (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) never take apostrophes. Don’t confuse its (possessive) with it's (it is).

For joint possession, put 's only on the second name: Anna and Tom's house.