Quantifiers, possessives and demonstratives
Possessives
Possessive 's and s'
- This is Sam's bicycle.
- Andy is Emma's brother.
- ‘Have you seen Sam and Emma's garden?’ ‘It's really big.’
- My parents' friends came for dinner.
- Our children's toys are everywhere!
| Noun + 's or s' | noun | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | Sam's | bicycle |
| Plural | Sam and Emma's | house |
| my parents' | friends | |
| my children's | toys |
We use possessive 's to say that something or someone belongs to a person, is connected to a place, or to show the relationship between people. The possessive 's always comes after a noun.
- Sam's bicycle
- the shop's customers
- New York's museums
- Emma's brother
When something belongs to more than one person and we give a list of names, we put 's on the last name.
- Sam and Emma's houseSam's and Emma's house
With regular plural nouns we use ' not 's.
- They're my parents' friends.They're my parent's friends.
With irregular plural nouns we use 's.
- They're my children's bicycles.They're my childrens' bicycles.
's has two other uses.
- Jack's in the classroom. (= Jack is in the classroom.)
- Jack's got a new laptop. (= Jack has got a new laptop.)
Possessive 's has no long form.
- Here is Jack's room.Here is Jack is room.
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