Possessives
Possessives are a grammatical form used to indicate ownership, possession, or a close relationship between two elements in a sentence. They typically show that something belongs to or is associated with someone or something else. In English, possessives are formed by adding an apostrophe and sometimes an “s” at the end of a noun or a noun phrase.
Singular Possessives: These are used when indicating ownership or possession of a single item or entity. To form singular possessives, you generally add an apostrophe followed by an “s” to the noun. For example:
The cat’s toy (the toy belonging to one cat)
- John’s car (the car belonging to John)
Plural Possessives: These are used when indicating ownership or possession of multiple items or entities. To form plural possessives for regular plural nouns, you add an apostrophe after the final “s” of the noun. For example:
- The cats’ toys (the toys belonging to multiple cats)
- The students’ books (the books belonging to multiple students)
Note: For irregular plural nouns that do not end in “s,” you still add an apostrophe followed by an “s.” For example:
- The children’s toys (the toys belonging to multiple children)
- The women’s dresses (the dresses belonging to multiple women)
Possessives are commonly used to express relationships between people and objects, to indicate ownership of physical or abstract things, or to describe characteristics or traits of someone or something. They play an essential role in English grammar and contribute to clear communication when discussing ownership or relationships.