Possessive Nouns

A possessive noun shows that something belongs to a person, animal, or thing. We add 's to the noun to show ownership.

What You'll Learn

To show that something belongs to one person, animal, or thing, add 's to the owner's name or noun.

Owner	+ 's	Possessive Form	What belongs to them
the cat	+ 's	the cat's	the cat's tail
Ben	+ 's	Ben's	Ben's bag
my mother	+ 's	my mother's	my mother's name
the dog	+ 's	the dog's	the dog's bone
my father	+ 's	my father's	my father's car
the bird	+ 's	the bird's	the bird's nest

Remember: Owner + 's + the thing that belongs to them!

Add 's to the owner: Put 's after the person, animal, or thing that owns something. "This is Ali's pencil."
The owner comes first: The owner always comes before the thing. "The dog's bowl" means the bowl belongs to the dog.
Do not mix up plurals and possessives: Adding -s makes a noun plural (many cats). Adding 's shows ownership (the cat's toy).

Wrong	Right	Why
That is Ben bag.	That is Ben's bag.	Add 's to show the bag belongs to Ben
The cats tail is long.	The cat's tail is long.	Add 's to show the tail belongs to the cat
My mother name is Sarah.	My mother's name is Sarah.	Add 's to show the name belongs to my mother

belongs to, of, owner, has

Tip: Ask yourself: "Who does it belong to?" Put that person or animal first, add 's, then say the thing.

Ask "Whose is it?": Read the sentence. Find the thing. Ask "Whose is it?" The answer is the owner. Add 's to the owner.
Point and say: Point at things at home. Say "That is Mum's cup" or "That is my sister's toy." Practise using 's every day.