Grammar: possessives

Possession

Possessive Adjectives


We use possessive adjectives to show who owns or "possesses" something

Personal Pronouns Possessive adjectives
Examples
I My My cousin is from Czech Republic
You Your Your brother and I are good friends.
He His His grandpa is very old. I think he is 89 years old
She Her Her husband is an important businessman.
It Its Its design is very modern
We Our Our family meet every Christmas eve.
You Your Your parents are stricter than mine.
They Their Their names are Phillip and Mary.

 

family

 

Possessive 's

When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add 's to a noun:

My brother’s house is wonderful.
My boyfriend’s mother is my mother in law.
They are my parent’s friends.

Rules:

  1. Use ‘s with a person to talk about relatives and possessions. Ex: Patrick’s mother NOT:The mother of Patrick.
  2. Use just the apostrophe when the word ends in s. (regular plural people) Ex: They are my parents’ friends. NOT: They’re my parent’s friends.
  3. Don’t use ‘s with things. Ex: The end of the film NOT: the film’s end.
  4. Be careful with the possessive ‘s and the verb to be ‘s. Ex: Mary’s mother. (possessive) – Maria’s Spanish. (verb to be)

 

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