POSSESSIVE NOUNS REVIEW
A possessive noun shows possession or ownership.
The car of Diane is gray.
o Diane’s car is gray.
o The car of Diane is gray.
The eyes of Joe are brown.
o Joe’s eyes are brown.
o The eyes of Joe are brown.
Remember These 3 Rules
1. To change a singular noun into a singular possessive noun, add
doesn’t matter if the singular noun ends in s already.
The name of my son is Chris.
The hair of Chris is brown.
’s (apostrophe s). It
= My son’s name is Chris.
= Chris’s hair is brown.
2. To change a regular plural noun into a possessive, add only
another s!
The brother of the girls is short.
The problems of the students are sad.
’ (apostrophe). Don’t add
= The girls’ brother is short.
= The students’ problems are sad.
3. To change an irregular plural noun into a possessive, add
’s
(apostrophe s).
The books of the men are on the table. = The men’s books are on the table.
The mother of the children is nice.
= The children’s mother is nice.
TRICK:
*Cover up the apostrophe and everything after the apostrophe
to see if the base noun is singular or plural
The boys’ shoes are stinky.
Is boys’ singular or plural? Cover up the apostrophe &
everything that follow it- and then you will know!
The boys’ shoes are stinky.
See! It’s plural!
Circle the correct answer Cover up the apostrophe and everything that follows.
This will tell you if the noun is singular or plural.
1. Singular
Plural
Boy’s shoes
2. Singular
Plural
Boys’ shoes
3. Singular
Plural
Friends’ phones
4. Singular
Plural
Friend’s phones
5. Singular
Plural
Flower’s petals
6. Singular
Plural
Baker’s aprons
7. Singular
Plural
Men’s suits
8. Singular
Plural
Child’s tantrum
9. Singular
Plural
Eddie’s temper
10. Singular
Plural
Mountains’ majesty
11. Singular
Plural
King’s crown
12. Singular
Plural
Hot peppers’ heat
13. Singular
Plural
Noah’s amazing curls
14. Singular
Plural
Lincoln’s presidency
15. Singular
Plural
Humans’ error
PRACTICE WITH POSSESSIVES
Who does that belong to? Who owns that? Whose is that?
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE VERSION - SINGULAR
1. The name of my friend
SINGULAR POSSESSIVE
My friend’s name
2. The friend of Ryan
3. The dog of Hannah
4. The car of that woman
5. The pens of the boy
6. The Derringer of Booth
7. The floor of the theater
8. The title of the book
9. The peel of the banana
10. The poem of Whitman
11. The mourning of somebody
12. The beat of jazz
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE VERSION - PLURAL
13. The teeth of the dogs
14. The bikes of the boys
15. The daughters of my friends
16. The car that belongs to my parents
17. The questions of the students
18. The graduation of the girls
19. The voice of the people
20. The laws of the countries
21. The hoots of the owls
22. Water of the oceans
23. The mourning of the citizens
24. The plan of the conspirators
25. The honks of the geese
PLURAL POSSESSIVE
The dogs’ teeth
Directions: Choose the correct possessive.
1. Many people visit our ( nation’s nations’ ) capital.
2. Amusement ( park’s
parks’ ) rides attract 8th graders.
3. Sarah is attracted ( nature’s natures’ ) beauty/
4. Legendary students are produced in ( Newtown’s Newtowns’ ) classroom.
5. Four ( president’s presidents’ ) faces are carved in Mount Rushmore.
6. ( Lincoln’s Lincolns’ ) face is one of them.
7. Many ( city’s
citys’ cities’ ) zoos have been refurbished.
8. Steam explodes from my angry ( teacher’s teachers’ ) ears.
9. The ( lawnmower’s
10. The ( people’s
lawnmowers’ ) blades were extremely sharp.
peoples’ ) voices shall be heard.
11. The ( president’s presidents’ ) speech stirred
(everyone’s everyone’s’ ) emotions.
Directions: Fill the blanks with the correct form of the word given
1. The young____________ (man) plane finally took off from Kitty Hawk.
2. The Wright____________ (brother) plane made its first historic flight in 1903.
3. A granite monument was erected to honor the Wright_______________(brother) .
4. .___________(Bess) drawings and_____________ (Louis) toys cluttered up the room.
5. The______________ (beaver) home was built early that year.
6. The _______________(beaver) homes were built early.
7. The _____________ (canary) food was put in the little dish beside him.
8. __________ (canary) songs keep loneliness out of many homes.
9. Bring home some companions for these______________ (canary).
10. The _______________ (elephant) are in the parade. See that young ___________ (elephant) trunk.