Possessive case

This post is about the possessive case of nouns.

The case of a noun is the form that shows its relation to other words in a sentence.

Grammarians disagree about how many cases there are in English. Some say three: nominative (when a noun stands as the subject of a sentence), objective (when it stands as the object of a sentence), and genitive or possessive (indicating possession or a close connection). As there is no distinction in spelling between the nominative and objective cases, others say that there are just two: common and possessive. In practice, the only necessity is to know what is distinctive about the possessive.

To make the possessive (or “genitive”) case of regular singular nouns we add –‘s (an apostrophe followed by an s)

Examples:

• Jim’s (as in Jim’s foot)
• Mum’s (as in Mum’s car)
• horse’s (as in the horse’s mouth)
• child’s (as in the child’s toy)

When a regular plural noun already ends in –s, we form the possessive by adding an apostrophe.

Examples:

• the chickens’ food
• the girls’ bikes
• teachers’ desks

When an irregular plural noun doesn’t end in –s, we form the possessive by adding –‘s.

Examples:

• the children’s books
• the men’s hats
• the sheep’s fleeces

In the past, the possessive case of singular nouns ending in –s was almost always formed by adding an apostrophe.

Examples:

• the princess’ dress
• Thomas’ nose
• James’ magazine

In modern English it is usually acceptable in most cases to add ‘s.

Examples:

• the princess’s dress
• Thomas’s nose
• James’s magazine

When possession involves a group of two or more nouns, it is only necessary to use the possessive form for the last in the list.

Examples:

• Mum and Dad’s money
• Jane, Mary and Ann’s flat

We also use the possessive case for certain measurements or quantities.

Examples:

• in a month’s time
• a three hours’ journey (a three-hour journey is also acceptable)
• a thousand pounds’ worth

Posted by Graham