Unit 4

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Possessive Nouns and Pronouns

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Possessive Nouns

A possessive noun indicates that the person, place, or thing named is the owner or holder of the noun that follows. It answers the question Whose … ? A possessive noun can be used before a singular noun, a plural noun, or a noncount noun.

It can be a proper noun followed by -’s:

Emily’s dress Bill’s shoes. Susan’s ice cream

A possessive noun can be a common noun followed by -’s:

the teacher’s desk the man’s glasses a friend’s mail

When two or more people own or have something, the plural noun is followed by an apostrophe if it ends in -s:

the teachers’ party the students’ books my friends’ health

If the plural form does not end in -s, it is followed by -’s:

the men’s cars the children’s class the people’s money

exercise 4-1

Write a phrase with a possessive noun for each item listed.

1.   car/my sister _______________________________

2.   hats/the men _______________________________

3.   party/the children _______________________________

4.   office/the doctor _______________________________

5.   apartment/the girls _______________________________

6.   class/Miss Smith _______________________________

7.   school/Ben Lindsay _______________________________

8.   meeting/the ladies _______________________________

exercise 4-2

Look at some photographs of your family and friends. Write five things you see, and indicate to whom they belong.

EXAMPLES: That’s Debbie’s dog.

                     Those are my sister’s shoes.

1.   _________________________________________________________________________________

2.   _________________________________________________________________________________

3.   _________________________________________________________________________________

4.   _________________________________________________________________________________

5.   _________________________________________________________________________________

Possessive Pronouns

A possessive pronoun can be used in place of a possessive noun. A possessive pronoun can be used before a singular, plural, or noncount noun. These are the possessive pronouns:

exercise 4-3

Look at your answers to Exercise 4-1. Change the possessive nouns to possessive pronouns.

1.   _________________________________________________________________________________

2.   _________________________________________________________________________________

3.   _________________________________________________________________________________

4.   _________________________________________________________________________________

5.   _________________________________________________________________________________

6.   _________________________________________________________________________________

7.   _________________________________________________________________________________

8.   _________________________________________________________________________________

exercise 4-4

Look at your answers to Exercise 4-2. Change the possessive nouns to possessive pronouns.

1.   _________________________________________________________________________________

2.   _________________________________________________________________________________

3.   _________________________________________________________________________________

4.   _________________________________________________________________________________

5.   _________________________________________________________________________________