Possessive Noun - Meaning, Usage, Rules and Examples

The possessive nouns are nouns that indicate ownership or possession. It indicates that something belongs to someone or something else. In many cases, possessive nouns are formed by adding an apostrophe and "s"('s) to the noun, but there are different exceptions to this possessive noun rule.

Example

• Teacher: To whom does this watch belong?
• Mona: It is Mona's watch.

Here, Mona's is a possessive noun because it shows ownership of the watch.

More Examples:

• Sarah's cat is sleeping.
• The students' books are on the table.
• The children's toys are everywhere.
• The teacher's desk is tidy.
• Riya's and Aman’s house is nearby.
• The dog's tail is wagging.

Types of Possessive Nouns

Based on the different types of usages of the possessive noun, there are following four types of possessive nouns,

1. Singular Possessive Nouns

For most singular nouns, add an apostrophe followed by s ('s) to show possession. This also applies to singular nouns that already end in "s," such as "boss's" in “the boss's chair.” Some style guides may also accept boss'

Singular possessive noun = singular noun + 's

Example:

• For the occasion, I used Rahul's jacket.
• The Malayalam film’s review is rather good.
• Can you bring Harris's luggage to me?

2. Plural Possessive Nouns

Possessive plural nouns are those that denote ownership of plural nouns. To show possession with regular plural nouns that end with "s," simply add an apostrophe at the end.
The fact that plural nouns already have an "s" at the end makes them more challenging to render possessive.

Plural possessive noun = plural noun ending in -s + apostrophe (')

Example:

• The tasks were organized by the students’ roll numbers.
• The boys' clubs have intense rivalries.
• All the clocks’ hands need to be replaced.

3. Irregular Possessive Nouns

Irregular possessive nouns are formed from irregular plural nouns that do not end in -s. To show possession, add an apostrophe followed by s ('s) to the plural noun.

Irregular possessive noun = irregular plural noun + 's

Examples:

• The children's toys are scattered around the room.
• The men's shoes are on the shelf.
• The women's team won the match.

4. Compound Possessive Nouns

When two or more people jointly possess the same thing, only the last noun takes the possessive form.

Example: Riya and Aman's house is near the park.

When two or more people possess things separately, each noun takes the possessive form.

Example: Riya's and Aman's houses are near the park.

Rules for possessive noun

1. In the case of singular nouns: An apostrophe and s ('s) are required to make the possessive of a single noun, such as "building."

2. In the case of a Plural Noun: Add simply an apostrophe (') = cats = cats' to a plural noun ending in 'ss to create the possessive form.
   Add an apostrophe and s ('s) to make "mice" into "mice's" to construct the possessive of a plural word that doesn't finish in "s."

3. In the case of multiple nouns: Apostrophes and an "s" should only be added to the last noun in a collection of nouns that share ownership of the same object.

4. In the Case of Hyphenated or Compound Nouns: Make sure to add the apostrophe and the letter "s" to the end of the compound word or the word after the hyphen when making a hyphenated or compound noun into a possessive noun.

Exercises

A. Fill in the blanks

Rewrite the noun in brackets in its correct possessive form.

1. The __________ uniforms were kept in the locker room. (players)
2. The __________ toys were scattered across the floor. (children)
3. The __________ car is parked outside the house. (Rohan)

B. Choose the correct option

1. The (girl's / girls') bags were placed on the table.
2. The (men's / mens') shoes are on sale.
3. Riya and Aman share one house. It is (Riya and Aman's / Riya's and Aman's) house.

C. Identify the possessive noun

1. The teacher's desk is near the window.
   → Identify the possessive noun.
2. The students' projects were displayed in the classroom.
   → Identify the possessive noun.
3. The children's playground is being renovated.
   → Identify the possessive noun.

D. Correct the sentences

1. The childrens' books are on the shelf.
2. The boys's room is next to the library.
3. The womans' team won the match.

E. Rewrite using a possessive noun

1. The bicycle belonging to Arjun is new.
2. The toys belonging to the children are in the box.
3. The house owned jointly by Riya and Aman is very large.