Possessive 's

When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add 's to a singular noun and an apostrophe ' to a plural noun, for example:

  • the boy's ball (one boy)
  • the boys' ball (two or more boys)

Notice that the number of balls does not matter. The structure is influenced by the possessor and not the possessed.

  one ball more than one ball
one boy
the boy's ball
the boy's balls
more than one boy
the boys' ball
the boys' balls
 
 
Although we can use of to show possession, it is more usual to use possessive 's. The following phrases have the same meaning, but #2 is more usual and natural:
  1. the boyfriend of my sister
  2. my sister's boyfriend

The structure can be used for a whole phrase:

  • the man next door's mother (the mother of the man next door)
  • the Queen of England's poodles (the poodles of the Queen of England)
  • the President of the USA's secretary (the secretary of the President of the USA)

Proper Nouns (Names)

We very often use possessive 's with names:

  • This is Mary's car.
  • Where is Ram's telephone?
  • Who took Anthony's pen?
  • I like Tara's hair.

When a name ends in s, we usually treat it like any other singular noun, and add 's:

  • This is Charles's chair.

But it is possible (especially with older, classical names) to just add the apostrophe ':

  • Who was Jesus' father?

Irregular Plurals

Some nouns have irregular plural forms without s (man > men). To show possession, we usually add 's to the plural form of these nouns:

singular noun plural noun
my child's dog my children's dog
the man's work the men's work
the mouse's cage the mice's cage
a person's clothes people's clothes