Possessive Grammar Rules in English, Definition and 100 Example Sentences

Possessive Grammar Rules in English, Definition and 100 Example Sentences

Possessive Grammar Rules in English

All we are living in an information era. Almost all the beneficial contents and knowledge on the internet is in English. We can claim that the English language is the lingua franca of the recent century. To know English is a must as we can see. Learning the language has that level of importance is not as hard as you expect. First, you need to learn the basic grammar rules that are the base of the whole structure of the language. One of these basics is possessive grammar rules in English.

What is possessive?

Remember the basic individual rights. One of the most important individual rights is the right of ownership, in more common word property rights. Possessives are the grammar parts that indicate ownership, origin.

What is a possessive noun?

A possessive noun is a noun that has the qualities pointed out in the sentences above. Possessive nouns are governed by a set of rules. They are used differently in singular, plural, and in the compound possessive case in a sentence.

How we can use a singular possessive noun?

In English possessive grammar rules, to create a possessive relation, an apostrophe is used approximately with a singular noun to point out possession of an object or objects by an individual. Let’s examine the examples below how we indicate ownership in English.

1. The horse of the girl = Girl’s horse
2. The medal of honor = Honor’s medal
3. The prince of Persia = Persia’s prince
4. The thickest string of my bass guitar = My bass guitar’s thickest string.
5. The eternal loneliness of the beautiful middle-aged lady = the beautiful middle-aged lady’s eternal loneliness
6. The cheap tricks of the most awesome guy in the universe = The most awesome guy in the universe’s cheap tricks

What if there is a singular noun that ends in “s”?

In the case that the individual’s name ends in the letter “s”, you could still use the apostrophe with “s” to reveal a possessive relationship. Also, there is a usage that you are able to just use the apostrophe without an “s”. The examples will clarify this issue.

1. James’s bottle = James’ bottle
2. The Beatles’s inevitable rise = The Beatles’ inevitable rise
3. Steve Harris’s legendary bass guitar = Steve Harris’ legendary bass guitar
4. Bernard Lewis’s book = Bernard Lewis’ book

How we can use possessive nouns for plurals?

To follow the possessive grammar in English, you will need to make a noun plural and use it with an apostrophe. Let’s clarify with an example, the word “boys”, if you add an apostrophe at the and of the word “boys” you will get a plural possessive noun for the word “boys”.

1. The ladies’ room is right here.
2. The student’s restroom is at the end of the hall.
3. These books’ condition is pretty good. You should buy them even if they are used.
4. The eagles’ feathers are found there. Probably the aerie is near.
5. The dogs’ noise was so loud, I could not sleep.

How we can use possessive nouns for irregular plurals?

When we follow possessive grammar rules with irregular plurals, there is no single difficulty to overcome. It is crystal clear. In English, there are several irregular plural words. “Women” is one of them. To make the word “women” a possessive form, all you need to do is adding an apostrophe right end of it.

1. If something will change in the World, it will be happening by women’s
2. Sheep’s location is not safe. Let’s replace them towards another location with the shepherd.
3. Leaves’ color was brown like the other creatures in the autumn.
4. We will see people’s choice by the end of the day

How we can use possessive nouns for compound nouns?

In regular English, we often see compound nouns. Compound nouns are the nouns that contain more than one nouns have a plural meaning. There are several ways to use them depending on the compound nouns. The number of apostrophes affects meaning. There is a possibility of “together” and “separately” ownership in that kind of sentence. Let’s see via examples.

1. This is John Cena and Barney Stinson’s (They together own the submarine.)
2. It is Ted and Marshall’s (They together own the apartment)
3. John Cena’s and Barney Stinson’s submarines crashed during the earthquake. (Separately owned two different submarines are crashed).
4. Ted’s and Barney’s apartments are both messy. (Separately owned apartments)
5. Steve and Carl’s grill is awesome (They own the grill together)
6. Steve’s and Carl’s grills are made by cast iron (Separately owned grills)
7. Eric Clapton and Tom Morello’s new album is on the market. (They together did the album)
8. Eric Clapton’s and Tom Morello’s new albums are from the different genres of the rock. (Separately made albums)