Nouns: possessives (‘s & of)

Possessive case

Rules and examples 

‘s with singular (person or other living being)	This is Sarah’s bag.
‘ with plural nouns s’ with irregular plural	The students' books are on the desk. men ’s clothes
‘of’ with inanimate objects	The cover of the book is torn.
to ask about the possession Whose…..?	Whose bag is over there? Whose book is it?

1.1 Use 's after a singular noun or s' after a plural noun to show possession, especially when the possessor is a person, animal, organisation, or time-related noun.

Examples

John's book, Sarah's car (people)

the dog's bone, the cat's toy (animal)

the company's policy, the school's playground (organisation)

yesterday's news, a day's work (time expressions)

the door of the house, the idea of freedom(inanimate objects)

the teachers' lounge, the children's toys (plural nouns)

1.2 Use s' (apostrophe after the s) after a plural noun that ends in s to show possession. For irregular plural nouns that do not end in s, use 's.

Examples

The students' books are on the desk. 

The teachers' lounge is on the second floor.

The children's toys are in the living room.

1.3 Use «of» to show possession, especially when you refer to non-living things.

Examples

The cover of the book is torn.

The success of the project depends on teamwork.

1.1 Use of + possessive form to describe possession or attributes.

Examples

One of John’s best ideas was to start his own business.

The north part of the city’s financial district is thriving.

1.2 Use 's with time expressions to indicate duration or possession.

Examples

They went on a week’s holiday to Italy.

After a day’s work, he was exhausted.

The team took a year’s break after completing the project.

1.3 Use multiple possessives in complex noun phrases to indicate layered ownership.

Examples

That is my brother’s girlfriend’s car.

I lost my brother’s computer’s password.

This is the neighbour’s dog’s collar.

1.4 Use possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) to replace a noun or noun phrase to indicate possession.

Examples

This book is mine, not yours. 

This car isn’t hers, it’s mine.

The house is theirs, but the garden is ours.