's
used to form possessives
When a singular noun refers to a person or animal, you form the possessive by adding 's.
I heard Elena's voice.
They asked the boy's name.
Everyone admired the princess's dress.
She patted the horse's nose.
When a plural noun ends in s, you form the possessive by adding an apostrophe '.
I try to remember my friends' birthdays.
He borrowed his parents' car.
When a plural noun does not end in s, you form the possessive by adding 's.
She campaigned for women's rights.
The children's toys go in this box.
When a name ends in s, you usually form the possessive by adding 's.
We went to Carlos's house.
I'm in Mrs Jones's class.
In formal writing, the possessive of a name ending in s is sometimes formed by adding an apostrophe '.
This is a statue of Prince Charles' grandfather, King George VI.
You don't usually add 's to nouns that refer to things. For example, don't say ‘the building’s front'. Say ‘the front of the building’.
We live at the bottom of the hill.
She'll be back at the end of August.
pronouns
You can add 's to the following pronouns:
One of the boys was riding on the back of the other's bike.
| another | anybody |
| anyone | everybody |
| everyone | nobody |
| no-one | one |
| other | somebody |
| someone |
Sometimes it helps to talk about one's problems.
The possessive forms of other pronouns, for example my, your, and her, are called possessive determiners.
other uses of possessives
In British English, you can add 's to a person's name to refer to the house where they live. For example, ‘I met him at Lisa’s' means ‘I met him at Lisa’s house'.
She was invited to a party at Ravi's.
British speakers also use words ending in 's to refer to shops and places offering services. For example, they talk about a butcher's, a dentist's, or a hairdresser's.
There's a newsagent's on the corner of the street.
I went to the doctor's because I kept getting headaches.
You can use be and a short noun phrase ending in 's to say who something belongs to. For example, if someone says ‘Whose is this coat?’, you can say ‘It’s my mother's'.
One of the cars was his wife's.
Why are you wearing that ring? It's Tara's.
Be careful
Don't use this construction in formal writing. Instead use belong to. You also use belong to with a longer noun phrase. For example, say ‘It belongs to the man next door’. Don't say ‘It is the man next door’s'.
Don't use this construction in formal writing. Instead use belong to. You also use belong to with a longer noun phrase. For example, say ‘It belongs to the man next door’. Don't say ‘It is the man next door’s'.
The painting belongs to someone I knew at university.
other uses of 's
Apart from its use in possessives, 's has three other uses:
• It can be a shortened form of is, especially after pronouns.
He's a novelist.
It's fantastic.
There's nothing to worry about.
• It can be a shortened form of has when has is an auxiliary verb.
He's got a problem.
She's gone home.
• It can be a shortened form of us after let.
Let's go outside.
Let's not argue.
➜ See let's - let us