English Grammar Drills - Mark Lester 2009
Possessive nouns
1 Nouns
Part 1 Noun Phrases
Virtually all languages have some way of indicating that a noun is the owner or possessor of another noun. For example, in the phrase John’s book, John is said to own or possess the book.
Of course the possessive forms of nouns can signal many things besides ownership. Often we use the possessive form with inanimate nouns to indicate that something is a part or a component of something else. For example, consider the following sentence:
The computer’s screen is flickering.
Here the possessive form tells us that the screen is a component of the computer.
In this section, however, we are going to focus solely on how English forms the possessive.
Before Shakespeare’s time the possessive form of nouns was spelled exactly the same as the plural form: with an -s. By Shakespeare’s time, however, writers had began to distinguish the possessive -s from the plural -s by the use of an apostrophe with the possessive: -’s. For example, they could distinguish the possessive form of the noun friend from the plural form:
Possessive: friend’s
Plural: friends
The use of the possessive apostrophe after the -s to indicate that a noun is both plural and possessive did not become standard until the beginning of the nineteenth century. So today we have a three-way distinction between the three -s forms: the plural -s, the singular possessive -’s, and the plural possessive -s’. For example:
Plural: friends
Singular possessive: friend’s
Plural possessive: friends’
While it is correct to call -s’ the “plural possessive,” it is a little confusing to think of the -’s as just the “singular possessive.” The problem with this definition arises with the possessive forms of irregular nouns that become plural by changing their vowels rather than by adding a plural -s. For example:
As you can see, -’s is used with these plural possessive nouns, not -s’. This is not really an exception to the general rule. At first glance, we might think we should use -s’ with these irregular nouns in the same way we use -s’ with regular nouns. This is not correct because it would mean that the -s’ with these nouns is what makes them plural. What actually makes them plural is the change in their vowels or ending. We must use ’s because we are only making these nouns (which already happen to be plural nouns) into possessive nouns.
A much better way to think of plural and possessive -s is given below. There are three types of -s endings:
Plural only Possessive only Plural possessive
-s -’s -s’
The -’s tells us is that whatever noun the -’s is attached to is now possessive. If -’s is attached to a singular noun (as is usually the case), then that noun has become a singular possessive noun. If -’s is attached to an irregular plural noun, then that noun has becomes a plural possessive noun.
This analysis will help you to always use the right form for both regular and irregular nouns.
One of the nice things about writing the different forms of the possessive -’s is that the spelling is completely regular. For example, here is how we spell the possessive forms of irregular nouns that change f to v in the plural:
Singular: wolf
Possessive: wolf’s (note that the f does not change to v)
Plural: wolves
Plural possessive: wolves’
Here is how we spell the possessives of nouns ending in consonant + y:
Singular: spy
Possessive: spy’s
Plural: spies
Plural possessive: spies’
Notice that the plural spies is spelled differently than the possessive singular spy’s. In the singular possessive, the y does not change to i and we do not add -es. We just add the normal -’s.
Here is how we spell the possessive nouns ending in vowel + y:
Singular: boy
Possessive: boy’s
Plural: boys
Plural possessive: boys’
Remember, the y is part of the spelling of the vowel and therefore nothing happens to it.
Exercise 1.6
Fill in the following chart with all of the forms for each noun.
Singular Singular possessive Plural only Plural possessive
wife wife’s wives wives’
1. dog
2. horse
3. tree
4. lady
5. fox
6. tooth
7. play
8. worker
9. shelf
10. man
11. studio
12. place
13. fly
14. child
15. woman
The pronunciation of the possessive -’s (whether singular or plural) or -s’ is governed by the same rules that govern the pronunciation of the plural -s:
/s/ if the noun ends in a voiceless consonant sound (except a sibilant)
/z/ if the noun ends in a vowel or voiced consonant sound (except a sibilant)
/əz/ if the noun ends in a sibilant sound
Here are some examples:
/s/: cat-cat’s, cats’; Kate-Kate’s, Kates’; Smith-Smith’s, Smiths’
/z/: company-company’s, companies’; officer-officer’s, officers’
/əz/: church-church’s, churches’; horse-horse’s, horses’
Exercise 1.7
Write the plural possessive form of each noun in the /s/, /z/, or /əz/ column depending on the pronunciation of the plural -s. The first question is done as an example.
Singular
form /s/ /z/ /əz/
beach beaches’
1. face
2. bridge
3. fox
4. chief
5. boy
6 navy
7. daughter
8. carriage
9. play
10. college