POSSESSIVE CASE: GENITIVE ('s)

The book The boy

The boy’s book

Indicates a relation of ownership The girls' dresses. People's names

or association with a person a For example:- that end in "s" you
group of people or animals take an apostrophe ( ' ). can write (') or ('s).
For example:- Plural nouns that end in " s " For example:-
Lynne's web site kept growing larger - Charles' job was
and larger. on the line, or
The member's forum. Singular and plural nouns Charles’s job was
The dog's tail. that don't end in 's' take -'s. on the line.
For example:-
Lynne's web site.

 Exercises with Genitive (-‘s)

A) Mark with an “X” the correct answer.

1. the coats of the ladies

 the ladies’s coats
 the ladies' coats 6. the bathtub of Archimedes
 no genitive possible  Joel's bathtub
2. the countries of Blair and Chirac  Joel's bathtub
 John's house and Susan's  Joels' bathtub
 John and Susan’s house 7. the business of Anne and Francis
 John and Susans house  Mary and Francis' business
3. the hobbies of the women  Mary's and Francis' business
 the womens hobbies  Mary and Francis's business
 the woman's hobbies  Mary's business and Francis's
 the women's hobbies 8. the diary of my boss
 the womens' hobbies  my boss's diary
4. the shoes of the players  my boss' diary
 the players' shoes 9. the clothes of men
 the players's shoes  mens clothes
 the player's shoes  men's clothes
5. the future of our boys  mens' clothes
 our boy's future 10. the girlfriend of my brother-in-law
 our boys' future  my brother-in-law's girlfriend
 our boys's future  my brother's-in-law girlfriend
 my brother's-in-law's girlfriend
 B) Rewrite the sentences correctly:

1. Billy blue car is in the garage. 6. My friends cousins are beautiful.

_______________________________________
2. Mr. John secretary is here.
_______________________________________
3. They sell ladies clothes in this store.
_______________________________________
4. The doctor kids are very nice.
_______________________________________
5. The women boyfriends are late.
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
7. We love Grandma cookies.
_______________________________________
8. The police officer sunglasses are broken.
_______________________________________
9. I don’t like boys sneakers.
_______________________________________
10. Bring the baby toys.
_______________________________________

C) Complete the exercise with 's or '.

1. The woman __ dogs. 6. My brothers__ children.
2. My grandmother__ car. 7. My parents__ furniture.
3. The student__ books. 8. My family__ car.
4. The girl__ mother. 9. The cow__ milk.
5. The basket __ handles. 10. The farmer__ truck.

D) Write apostrophe’s correctly.

Example: I met _______ sister yesterday. (Mandy)

Answer: I met Mandy's sister yesterday.

1. This is __________________ book. (Peter) 6. __________ shoes are on the second floor. (men)
2. Let's go to the __________________. (Smiths) 7. My _________ car was not expensive. (parents)
3. The ______________ room is upstairs. (children) 8. ________________ CD player is new. (Charles)
4. ____________ sister is twelve years old. (John) 9. This is the __________________ bike. (boy)
5. ________ and_________ bags have blue 10. These are the _______________ pencils. (boys)
stickers. (Susan - Steve)

E) Rewrite each phrase below using a possessive form.

Example: the engine of the boat the boat’s engine

1. the dish of the puppies ____________________________

2. the pages of the encyclopedia ____________________________

3. the red saddle of the horse ____________________________

4. the fishing tackle of the men ____________________________

5. the spells of the witches ____________________________

6. the homework for the class ____________________________