fact sheet 2
Apostrophes | language unit 1.3
Possession – the genitive
What is a possession?
A possession shows that something belongs to someone (ownership).
Possession is also called ‘the genitive’.
How can you show possession with an apostrophe?
We use an apostrophe to show that
something is owned by or belongs to
somebody or something.
DO NOT use apostrophe to show
possession with pronouns.
The woman’s flowers.
The man’s car.
The boy’s bike.
My friend’s jeans.
Frida’s hair.
It is his shoes.
That bike is hers.
That car is his and this car is ours.
I’ve got my bag, have you got yours?
Don’t touch the cakes, they’re theirs.
My cat isn’t well, its temperature is very high.
How can you show the difference between singular and plural?
If two or more things are the ‘owners’ – and they already end in an s – the apostrophe
goes after the s:
Singular noun
Plural noun (regular)
Plural noun (irregular)
Apostrophe before the s:
Apostrophe after the s:
Apostrophe before the s:
The woman’s flowers = one
owner, one woman owns the
flowers.
The doctors’ patients =
the patients belong to more
than one doctor.
The women’s flowers =
more than one woman own
the flowers.
Frida’s hair = one owner,
the hair belongs to one girl,
Frida.
My two friends’ disco =
more than one friend own
the disco.
The mice’s footprints =
more than one mouse have
made the footprints.
The boy’s bike = one owner,
the boy owns the bike.
The boys’ bikes = more
than one boy own the bikes.
The men’s car = more than
one man own the car.
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voices in time 2
kopioriginal