Possessive Noun

What is Possessive Noun?

Let’s read the two sentences below.

Sentence 1: The book of the Tia is on the desk.

Sentence 2: The Tia's book is on the desk.

Which sentence sound better?

The first sentence is long and seems awkward to speak whereas second sentence short and straightforward. We use possessive case to show possession (i.e. ownership or belongings).

Rules for writing Possessive Nouns

      1.   In case singular nouns and plural nouns that do not end in “s”, possessive case is formed by adding apostrophe and “s” to the noun.

For example:

Singular noun- Ayush’s toy

Plural noun not ending in “s” – Women’s jeans

       2.   In case of plural ending in “s”, possessive case is formed by adding only apostrophe to the plural noun.

For example: Companies’ employees

       3.   In case of hyphenated and compound noun, add apostrophe + s to the end of the words.

For example:

Sister-in-law’s purse (hyphenated words)

       4.   When two or more nouns are used together, add the apostrophe + s to the last noun only.

For example: Anu and Tia’s kit

Practice Exercise

Q1. Write the possessive form of the following:

      a.   the doll of the girl                  ___________________________

      b.   the tail of the cow                  ___________________________

      c.   the beak of the bird                ___________________________

      d.   the mother of Ayush               ___________________________

      e.   the teeth of the monster         ___________________________

      f.    the car of my friend                ___________________________

      g.   the bag of the visitor              ___________________________

      h.   the house of the relative         ___________________________

      i.     the purse of the lady             ___________________________

      j.    the feet of the baby               ___________________________

      k.   the laptop of the man             ___________________________

      l.     the wings of the butterfly        ___________________________

      m. the den of the lion                  ___________________________

      n.   the servant of the king            ___________________________

      o.   the bicycle of Ayush                ___________________________

 Q2. Write the possessive form of the following:

     a.   the shoes of the children     ____________________________

     b.   the bags of the ladies          _____________________________

     c.   the smile of the woman        ____________________________

     d.   the dress of the hero            ____________________________

     e.   the tricycle of the baby        _____________________________

      f.    the burrow of the rabbit       ____________________________

     g.   the bag of the visitor            ____________________________

     h.   the house of my teacher       ____________________________

      i.     the shop of the grocer          ___________________________

      j.    the tools of the mechanic      ___________________________

      k.   the uniforms of the children   ___________________________

       l.    the pen of the girl                ___________________________

      m.  the cat of Dia                       ___________________________

      n.   the tail of the lizard              ___________________________

      o.   the color box of Ayush          ___________________________