Possessive Nouns and Pronouns

How do you show that something belongs to someone in English? You use possessives! Whether it's John's car, my book, or the dog's tail, possessives are essential for expressing ownership, relationships, and connections between people and things.

The Three Types of Possessives

Type	Examples	Usage
Possessive Nouns	John's, the cat's, teachers'	Add 's or ' to nouns
Possessive Adjectives	my, your, his, her, its, our, their	Come before a noun
Possessive Pronouns	mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs	Stand alone (replace noun)

Part 1: Possessive Nouns ('s and s')

Possessive nouns show that something belongs to a person, animal, organization, or thing. We form them by adding an apostrophe (') and usually an "s".

Rule 1: Singular Nouns → Add 's

For singular nouns (one person or thing), add 's:

Noun	Possessive Form	Example
the girl	the girl's	the girl's phone
my brother	my brother's	my brother's car
the company	the company's	the company's policy
the dog	the dog's	the dog's bowl
Sarah	Sarah's	Sarah's idea

Rule 2: Plural Nouns Ending in -s → Add Only '

For plural nouns that already end in -s, add only an apostrophe:

Noun	Possessive Form	Example
the students	the students'	the students' books
my parents	my parents'	my parents' house
the teachers	the teachers'	the teachers' lounge
the companies	the companies'	the companies' profits
the dogs	the dogs'	the dogs' toys

Rule 3: Irregular Plurals → Add 's

For irregular plurals that don't end in -s, add 's (just like singular nouns):

Irregular Plural	Possessive Form	Example
children	children's	children's toys
men	men's	men's clothing
women	women's	women's rights
people	people's	people's opinions
teeth	teeth's	teeth's enamel

Rule 4: Names Ending in -s

For names ending in -s, both forms are acceptable:

Name	Option 1 (Traditional)	Option 2 (Modern)
James	James' book	James's book
Charles	Charles' car	Charles's car
Texas	Texas' weather	Texas's weather
Dickens	Dickens' novels	Dickens's novels

Rule 5: Compound Nouns and Multiple Owners

Situation	Rule	Example
Compound nouns	Add 's to the last word	my mother-in-law's house the attorney general's office
Joint ownership (shared by both)	Add 's to the last name only	Tom and Sarah's apartment (they share one apartment)
Separate ownership (each has their own)	Add 's to both names	Tom's and Sarah's cars (they each have a car)

Part 2: Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives (also called possessive determiners) come before a noun to show who owns it:

Subject Pronoun	Possessive Adjective	Example
I	my	My name is Anna.
you	your	Is this your pen?
he	his	His car is blue.
she	her	Her office is upstairs.
it	its	The cat licked its paw.
we	our	Our team won!
they	their	Their house is beautiful.

Its vs It's

This is one of the most common mistakes in English:

its (possessive)	it's (contraction)
Shows ownership The dog wagged its tail.	Means "it is" or "it has" It's raining. (It is) It's been a long day. (It has)

Part 3: Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns replace a noun—they stand alone without a noun after them:

Possessive Adjective	Possessive Pronoun	Example
my	mine	This book is mine.
your	yours	Is this seat yours?
his	his	The idea was his.
her	hers	The victory is hers.
its	—	(rarely used as a pronoun)
our	ours	This house is ours.
their	theirs	The choice is theirs.

Comparing Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

Possessive Adjective + Noun	Possessive Pronoun (alone)
This is my car.	This car is mine.
Is that your bag?	Is that bag yours?
Her answer was correct.	The correct answer was hers.
Their children are older.	Theirs are older.

Complete Possessives Reference Chart

Subject	Object	Possessive Adj.	Possessive Pron.	Reflexive
I	me	my	mine	myself
you	you	your	yours	yourself
he	him	his	his	himself
she	her	her	hers	herself
it	it	its	—	itself
we	us	our	ours	ourselves
they	them	their	theirs	themselves

Special Uses of Possessives

1. Double Possessives

English sometimes uses "of" + possessive together:

2. Possessives Without a Following Noun

Sometimes we use possessive nouns without stating what's owned (when it's clear from context):

3. Possessives with Time Expressions

Expression	Example
today's	today's news
yesterday's	yesterday's meeting
tomorrow's	tomorrow's schedule
this week's	this week's report
a day's	a day's work
two weeks'	two weeks' notice
a year's	a year's experience

4. Possessives with Geographic and Group Names

's vs Of: When to Use Which?

English has two ways to show possession: 's and of. Here's when to use each:

Use 's for:	Use "of" for:
People and animals Maria's book the dog's tail	Things and abstract nouns the cover of the book the end of the story
Organizations the company's profits the government's policy	Long phrases the opinion of the people surveyed
Time expressions today's news a week's holiday	Quantities a cup of tea a piece of cake
Places (informal) London's museums	Places (formal) the museums of London

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Confusing its and it's

Mistake 2: Adding apostrophes to possessive pronouns

Mistake 3: Wrong placement of apostrophe in plurals

Mistake 4: Using possessive adjective instead of pronoun

Mistake 5: Confusing their, there, and they're

Word	Type	Example
their	Possessive adjective	Their house is big.
there	Adverb of place	The book is over there.
they're	Contraction (they are)	They're coming soon.

Summary

Possessives in English follow clear patterns:

• Singular nouns: Add 's → the student's book
• Plural nouns ending in -s: Add only ' → the students' books
• Irregular plurals: Add 's → the children's toys
• Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) come before nouns
• Possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) stand alone
• Its (possessive) vs it's (it is) — no apostrophe for possession!
• Possessive pronouns never have apostrophes