Grammar: Word classes: Nouns: Noun formation

Indicating possession

What do we mean by 'possession'?

The basic everyday meaning of possession is 'ownership': her book Miss Lee's car that naughty puppy of hers

However, when we refer to 'possession' in grammar, we are talking about more than just physical ownership. The concept of possession includes close associations and relationships, so we can talk about my doctor, a girls' school, the President of the USA. Obviously when I talk about 'my doctor' there is no suggestion of ownership, rather I am referring to my relationship with the particular doctor that I see when I am sick. In the same way, the girls do not own their school, the use of the possessive apostrophe here indicates a close association, ie the school is designed for the education of girls.

There are a number of ways in which possessive relationships can be indicated in English. These are the five most common ones:

	noun + apostrophe (Bozo's bag, the school's principal, the team's coach)
	Possessive determiners (my mother, his best friend)
	Possessive pronouns (mine, yours)
	Prepositional phrase (The President of the USA, the meaning of possession)
	Linking verb indicating possession (have, own, belong to, possess)

Noun + apostrophe

When we want to indicate possession or a close relationship, we can use the possessive noun form, which is formed by adding an apostrophe to the noun. The apostrophe normally goes before the 's' for singular (John's car) and after the 's' for plural (the girls' parents). Below is a summary. Note what happens when the noun already ends in 's', and with other irregular spellings:

singular		plural
noun	possessive	noun	possessive
girl Bozo Burns Jesus lady boss child	girl's Bozo's Burns's / Burns' * Jesus' lady's boss's child's	girls - - - ladies bosses children	girls' - - - ladies' bosses' children's

* Note that for names ending in 's' (eg Burns, Dickens) the possessive form can be formed either by simply adding the apostrophe or by adding apostrophe 's' (Burns' / Burns's, Dickens' / Dickens's). This is generally seen as a question of style. However, the possessive form of Jesus is only ever written Jesus'.

The possessive noun form can be used together with the thing which is possessed (Miss Lee's car), and also by itself if it is clear what is being referred to (It isn't my car, it is Miss Lee's).