Possessive Nouns
Indicating possession for people or things
Possessives for People and Groups
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
|---|---|
After a singular personal noun (a person, a group, a community) add an apostrophe + s. |
After a plural personal noun (people, groups, communities) add an apostrophe after the s. |
The state's soccer team won several games. |
The states' soccer teams won several games. |
The country's soccer team won several games. |
The countries' soccer teams won several games. |
The class' soccer team won several games. |
The classes' soccer teams won several games. |
Coach Papadopoulos' soccer team won several games. |
The Papadopoulos' soccer teams won several games. |
Possessive Nouns
Inanimate – "Things"
Possessives for Things
| APOSTROPHE + S | OF |
|---|---|
Using the apostrophe + s form for "things" is informal. |
Using of for "things" is more acceptable in academic and business English. Of is also used to clarify meaning. See examples below. |
The goalpost's leg was broken. |
The leg of the goalpost was broken. |
I dropped my keys at the bed's foot. (awkward sounding) |
I dropped my keys at the foot of the bed. (maintain an expression) |
My my brother's best-friend's soccer team won. (confusing) |
The soccer team of my brother's best-friend won. (simplify a series of possessives) |
The wet, slippery field's grass prevented us from playing. (awkward sounding) |
The wet, slippery grass of the field prevented us from playing. (improve modifier placement) |
Possessives
Days and Holidays
Possessives for Days & Holidays
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
|---|---|
The apostrophe is placed before the S in singular-noun holidays. |
The apostrophe is placed after S in plural-noun holidays. |
Today's date is December 31. |
I was paid well for thirty days' work. |
This year's movies were excellent. |
The last few years' best movies have all used CGI. (computer generated images) |
We are going out on New Year's Eve. |
We play jokes on people on April Fools' Day. |
More chocolate is sold on Valentine's Day than any other day. |
All Saints' Day is celebrated on November 1. |
I'll send a card to my mother on Mother's Day. |
* Veterans Day is the day we honor those who have fought in past wars. |
The kids make breakfast for their father on Father's Day. |
* Presidents Day is the day we honor those who have fought in past wars. |
Everyone wears green on Saint Patrick's Day. |
*Neither Veterans Day nor Presidents Day occurs with an apostrophe. |
Mother's Day and Father's Day are creations of Anne Jarvis who chose to make the noun form singular so that each mother or father would be specially honored.
CGI (n) - computer generated images
Practice
People and Groups
- Select the word that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right.