NAME: _________________________________________________
ENGLISH, _______
A noun can show ownership or possession of people, things or qualities.
Nouns that show ownership or possession of people, things or qualities are
called POSSESSIVE NOUNS!
What is a possessive noun?
A possessive noun tells who or what owns or has something; possessive
nouns show _______________________.
Possessive nouns can be:
 Either common or proper nouns (one or the other…NOT BOTH!)
AND
 Either singular or plural (one or the other…NOT BOTH!)
Possessive nouns sound exactly like PLURAL nouns, which indicate more
than one, but there is HUMONGOUS difference.
CONCEPT:
 PLURAL nouns indicate more than one noun, and POSSESSIVE
nouns indicate that a noun has OWNERSHIP of a person, thing, or
quality.
 SOUND has absolutely nothing to do with forming possessive nouns.
The way you WRITE the possessive form of the noun is what visually
shows ownership.
Apostrophes (‘) are used to form possessive nouns.
Like many other lessons associated with English, forming possessive nouns
has rules that need to be followed. Read the following table in guiding you
to correctly form possessive nouns.
 REMEMBER, SOUND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SHOWING
POSSESSION.
NAME: _________________________________________________
ENGLISH, _______
Guidelines for Forming Possessive Nouns
1) Add an apostrophe (‘) and “s” to a singular noun.
EX.: Delores’s job
EX.: Mike’s cousin
EXAMPLES:
EX.: Chris’s bag
EX.: school’s gym
2) Add just an apostrophe (‘) after plural nouns ending in “s.”
EXAMPLES:
EX.: passengers’ tickets EX.: Wilsons’ house
EX.: Davises’ luggage EX.: boys’ locker room
3) For plural nouns that DO NOT end in “s,” add an apostrophe and “s.”
EXAMPLES:
EX.: children’s tree house
EX.: women’s clothing
EX.: men’s baseball team
EX.: people’s flight
4) To show possession for things owned by more than one person, add an
apostrophe and “s” after the last noun.
EXAMPLES:
EX.: Sam and Jaclyn’s bird
EX.: Brian and Ed’s boat
5) Add an apostrophe (‘) and “s” to the end of hyphenated-compound
words.
EXAMPLES:
EX.: great-aunt’s son
EX.: mother-in-law’s purse
 REMEMBER, SOUND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SHOWING
POSSESSION.
NAME: _________________________________________________
ENGLISH, _______
Steps to forming possessive nouns:
1) Identify the nouns (nouns name people, places, things, and ideas/qualities
in the sentence).
2) Ask yourself do the noun(s) own anything. (Are they showing possession
of another noun?)
3) If the noun(s) do/does not own anything, it should be left alone.
4) If the noun(s) do/does own something, it needs to be written to show
ownership.
5) Check to see if the noun (owning something) is singular or plural.
6) Refer to the Guidelines for Forming Possessive Nouns when ready to form the
possessive of the noun.
Guided Practice:
Part I.—Write the possessive form of the nouns in bold and italics
print.
1) Michael Jordan owns a clothing line: _____________________
2) high school football team: ______________________
3) sheep wool: ______________________
4) cars engine: _____________________________
5) James parents: _____________________________________
Part II.—Fill in the possessive form of the nouns in parenthesis.
7) The __________________ owner takes him for a four mile walk everyday
at five o’clock. (dog)
8) __________________________ mother works two full time jobs to
support her family. (Megan)
9) The sixth grade ___________________ theme for this year’s dance is
“Cherish The Times.” (class)
 REMEMBER, SOUND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SHOWING
POSSESSION.