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.