Possessive Nouns
Read the following sentence silently to
yourself.
• The father of the boy asked for the help of the
volunteers.
Possessive Nouns
• Show ownership or possession
Singular Possessive Nouns
• Just add an apostrophe and s (‘s)
• Examples:
– The wig of the clown = the clown’s wig
– The collar of the dog = the dog’s collar
– The hands of the clock = the clock’s hands
Singular Possessive Nouns Exception
• For names ending in s, you can add an
apostrophe and s (‘s) or just add an
apostrophe.
• Examples:
– The desk of James = James’s desk or James’ desk
– The room of Mrs. Peters = Mrs. Peters’s room or
Mrs. Peters’ room
Plural Possessive Nouns
• If the noun already has an s, just add an
apostrophe at the end.
• Examples:
– The tails of the dogs = the dogs’ tails
– The uniforms of the band members = the band
members’ uniforms
Irregular Plural Possessive Nouns
• For plural nouns that do not end in s, add an
apostrophe and s (‘s)
• Examples:
– The coats of the women = the women’s coats
– The jackets of the children = the children’s jackets
– The arches of the feet = the feet’s arches
Let’s Try It!
• There are 20 cards taped around the room.
• Each card has a number and a phrase.
• On your answer sheet, write the phrase next
to the correct number.
• Then, rewrite each phrase using a possessive
noun.
1
• The house belonging to Julie
• Julie’s house
2
• The shoes belonging to Curtis
• Curtis’s shoes
• Curtis’ shoes
3
• The restroom for ladies
• The ladies’ restroom
4
• The newspaper from yesterday
• Yesterday’s newspaper
5
• The homework of the children
• The children’s homework
6
• The house belonging to Mr. Janus
• Mr. Janus’s house
• Mr. Janus’ house
7
• The eggs belonging to the geese
• The geese’s eggs
8
• The cars belonging to my friends
• My friends’ cars
9
• The restroom for men
• The men’s restroom
10
• The sister of Ross
• Ross’s sister
• Ross’ sister
11
• The text messages belonging to my friend
• My friend’s text messages
12
• The tests taken by the students
• The students’ tests
13
• The skyscrapers of the cities
• The cities’ skyscrapers
14
• The tracks of the moose
• The moose’s tracks
15
• The book belonging to Ulysses
• Ulysses’s book
• Ulysses’ book
16
• The choice of the people
• The people’s choice
17
• The tires of the bus
• The bus’s tires
18
• The name of the cat
• The cat’s name
19
• The mother of Francis
• Francis’s mother
• Francis’ mother
20
• The purse belonging to my mother
• My mother’s purse
Wrap It Up
• Using the cards in front of you, hold up the
correct answer for each of the following.
Question 1
• To make a singular noun possessive, you…
• A. Add an apostrophe and s (‘s)
• B. Add an apostrophe (‘)
Question 2
• To make a regular plural noun possessive
you…
• A. Add an apostrophe and s (‘s)
• B. Just add an apostrophe (‘)
Question 3
• To make an irregular plural noun possessive,
you…
• A. Add s and an apostrophe (s’)
• B. Add an apostrophe and s (‘s)
Question #4
• Just add an apostrophe when…
• A. Making a name that ends in s possessive
• B. Making a singular noun possessive
Question #5
• The book of Miss Buhonick changes to…
• A. Miss Buhonicks’ book
• B. Miss Buhonick’s book
Question #6
• The wings belonging to the butterflies changes
to…
• A. The butterflie’s wings
• B. The butterflies’ wings
Question #7
• The backpack of Kris changes to…
• A. Kris’s backpack
• B. Kris’ backpack
Question #8
• The handles belonging to the knives changes
to…
• A. the knives’ handles
• B. The knive’s handles
Question #9
• The string of the balloon changes to…
• A. The balloons’ string
• B. The balloon’s string
Question #10
• The buttons of the coat
• A. The coats’ buttons
• B. The coat’s buttons
Exit Ticket
• On a sheet of scratch paper, write three sentences with each
including a possessive noun.
• 1 sentence should use a singular possessive noun
• 1 sentence should use a regular plural possessive
noun
• 1 sentence should use an irregular plural possessive
noun
• When finished, turn in to English bin, and finish working on
your vocabulary graphic organizer.