Language Arts: Possessive Nouns / Pronouns - Tutorial
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Possessive nouns show ownership by using an apostrophe mark (').
This section will cover how possessive nouns and possessive pronouns are used and their rules.
Possessive Singular Nouns
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive nouns are often mistaken for being plural when they end in the letter s.
Plural nouns that do end in the letter s.
Possessive Plural Nouns
Those books are mine.
The books belongs to me.
Her fuzzy slippers were thrown in the back of the closet.
The slippers belong to her.
Our vacation was postponed until next month.
The vacation was ours.
Your dog is well trained.
The dog belongs to you.
Their house was remodeled last summer.
The house belongs to them.
Rules for Possessive Pronouns
1.
Somebody's car is parked in the wrong spot.
The car belongs to somebody.
Everyone's score will be posted on the door.
The score belongs to everyone.
Everybody's favorite loveable puppy is starring in a new movie.
The puppy belongs to everybody.
One's nutrition has to be considered when planning the perfect diet.
The nutrition belongs to one.
Possessive Indefinite Pronouns
Megan's shoes are too tight.
The shoes belong to Megan.
Charles's skateboard lost a wheel.
The skateboard belongs to Charles.
The child's book is about rabbits.
The book belongs to the child.
The car's engine sounds muffled.
The engine belongs to the car.
The lion's roar was frightening.
The roar belongs to the lion.
The students' books are brand new.
The books belonged to the group of students.
The players' uniforms were the wrong size.
The uniforms belong to the group of players.
The dogs' collars were diamond studded.
The collars belong to the group of dogs.)
The computers' programs were deleted.
(The programs belong to the computers.)
The women's soccer team was featured on the evening news.
The soccer team belongs to the women.
The children's playground has been closed due to repairs.
The playground belongs to the children.
Those people's homes were remodeled last summer.
The homes belong to the people.
Note: The apostrophe is placed after the plural form of the noun.
Plural nouns that do not end in the letter s.
Rules for Possessive Nouns
Add an ('s) to most singular nouns to show possession or ownership.
Mary's dog
Add an apostrophe after the s if the word is a plural and ends in the letter s.
The students' books
If the noun is a plural noun or a collective noun that does not end in a letter s, then add an ('s) at the end of the word.
A plural noun that does not end in s.
men's socks
crowd's noise
my, mine
your, yours
his, hers, its
our, ours
their, theirs
The store increased its inventory. - correct
The store increased it's inventory. - incorrect
Those magazines on the counter are theirs. - correct
Those magazines on the counter are theirs'. - incorrect
Possessive pronouns are written without an 's to show ownership.
Pronouns take the place of a noun.
one
anyone
everyone
someone
nobody
anybody
everybody
somebody
nothing
anything
everything
something
each
either
neither
Indefinite pronouns take a singular verb.
To show ownership or possession, place an apostrophe between the pronoun and the letter s.
A collective noun that does not end in s.
Possessive pronouns never use an apostrophe. They are already possessive.
The possessive pronoun mine should not be plural.
That video game is mines. - incorrect
That video game is mine. - correct
The possessive pronoun its is often confused with it's. Remember that it's is the contraction for it is.
Indefinite pronouns use an apostrophe to show possession.
Kelly had to borrow someone's math book for class.
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