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Possessive Nouns. When a noun shows ownership or possession. Forming the Possessive of Singular Nouns. To make singular nouns possessive, simply add ‘s. Examples. the food of the fish = the fish’s food the claw of the lobster = the lobster’s claw the book of the boy = the boy’s book
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Possessive Nouns When a noun shows ownership or possession
Forming the Possessive of Singular Nouns • To make singular nouns possessive, simply add ‘s
Examples • the food of the fish = the fish’s food • the claw of the lobster = the lobster’s claw • the book of the boy = the boy’s book • the cheese of the mouse = the mouse’s cheese
Singular Possessive: Exception • When a singular noun ends in "s" it may seem the word is plural. However, there are many singular proper nouns that end in "s" like Bess, Jones, etc. When a name ends in "s" or "es", simply add an apostrophe to the end. • the car of Bess = Bess’ car • the house of Jones = Jones’ house
Reminder • Singular nouns are made possessive by adding ‘s, unless it is a proper noun that ends in “s” already, like Jones.
Forming the Possessives of Plural Nouns • There are 2 ways to make plural nouns possessive…
Plural Possessives #1 • If the plural noun ends in “s”, simply add an apostrophe to the end • the coats of the girls = the girls’ coats • the marbles of the vases = the vases’ marbles • the cat of the boys = the boys’ cat • Remember: All of the words - girls, vases, and boys - end in “s” and are plural. They only need an apostrophe on the end.
Plural Possessives #2 • If the plural possessive does NOT end in “s” add ‘s
Examples • the babies of the salmon = the salmon’s babies • salmon is plural in this case, but does not end in “s” • the fish of the children = the children’s fish • We know that children is a plural noun, but it does not end in “s.” Therefore, it requires ‘s after the “n” • the boats of the men = the men’s boats
Keep in Mind… • Singular Possessives • When a singular noun (usually a proper noun like a name) ends in “s”, only add an apostrophe. Otherwise, singular nouns take - ‘s.
Plural Possessives • If the plural noun ends in “s”, only add an apostrophe • If the plural noun does not end in “s” (like children, fish, salmon, deer), add -‘s
Also Keep In Mind… • Only the noun that possesses or owns something determines the apostrophe or -’s. It does not matter how many things the noun owns or posseses. • Hat example