There are two ways to express possession. You can use possessive adjectives or the possessive case ('s).
When we add an apostrophe S ('s), we show that something belongs to someone or a type of relationship between things.
For example:
Your brother's friend.
Or we can say:
He is his friend.
In both cases, it means that this friend belongs to your brother.
In this section, we only check ('s) to mention the possession.
By the end of this section you will:
• Describe all the possessions or objects that belong to a person by using the Anglo-Saxon possessive ('s) to refer to someone's belongings.
Sometimes you will need to express a possessive relationship between people or things. So we need to use an “s” after a noun or a name to say that:
There are some rules to follow. For example, we use 's after a name and before a noun. This tells us that something belongs to someone.
Jacobs, L. (2011) Thanksgiving 2011 [photo] Retrieved on 2017, March 29 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/bunnygoth/6416211543/sizes/l
Unsplash (2015) purse [photo] Retrieved on 2017, March 29 from https://pixabay.com/es/monedero-mujer-patr%C3%B3n-de-cuero-1031547/
When we have a plural noun and it finishes with S, we just have to add the apostrophe ('). For example:
Mehdee, R. (2016) MIAMI 2016 [photo] Retrieved on 2017, March 29 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/mythrobin/29286608770/sizes/l
But if the plural noun is irregular, we have to add 's, look at the following examples:
AdinaVoicu (2016) Niños jugando fiesta divertido [photo] Retrieved on 2017, July 25 from https://pixabay.com/es/ni%C3%B1os-fiesta-jugar-divertido-1331011/
When we have TWO names, we only add 's to the second name:
Wooleywonderworks (2011) slumber party, with a book [photo] Retrieved on 2017, March 29 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/5383445152/sizes/l
After checking the different forms or use of ('s), try to use it correctly with various objects or pronouns.
The following exercise will help you to practice it.
Activity 1
What do you know about people? People can be related to their belongings, and possessives are useful to describe a person’s life.
Joanna Courtney is a famous painter, and she has a wonderful life. She enjoys her life, the things she has and does.
Christy and Samuel Jackson, they are a couple that enjoys their lives and their cars.
Read about the following people and discover about their lives, where they live and what they do.
In this activity, you must complete the sentences with the missing information. Once you have read it, you can finish the sentences.
Reading 1
Hello! My name is Joanna Courtney. I'm a famous painter. I'm from New York, but my family is from California.
I have a small apartment here in New York and a big house in California. In California, I have a big studio where I can paint. There is also, a big garden and two horses, Belle and Beauty, I love them. I love my life, and it’s great.
Reading 2
Hello! Our names are Christy and Samuel Jackson. I'm a Spanish teacher at an elementary school, and Samuel is a manager at a big department store. We have two children, Max and Maggie.
We don't have a big house, but we have a cosy department. We have two cars. My car is a new Honda, and Samuel has a new van. We think we have everything. Life is good!
Activity 2
People have different kinds of belongings. Listen to the following sentences and discover whose those things belong to.
Remember that in English there are different forms to express possessions. It depends if we talk about one or more people.
Activity 3
We can meet some famous people when we listen about their life.
Listen about what these famous people have done.
Activity 4
Imagine that you are visiting a friend, and you are describing all the things that you are seeing. How would you do it? Whose cat is this? Whose umbrella is this?
The following sentences are scrambled, take into consideration the 's + noun, it will help you to put them in the correct order.
Activity 5
Let’s see if you are a good observer. In the following picture, some objects belong to specific heroes. Maybe you recognise them, perhaps not. Try to do as many sentences as you can.
Can you recognise the following things? Who belongs to these?
Write a short paragraph describing who belongs to these items. Try to use complete sentences, the use of ('s). You need to write at least ten sentences.
Example:
That is Superman's cloak.
Batman's car is fast and black.
After doing your writing use the next rubric to evaluate yourself.
Activity 6
After you have written and read about different people and their belongings, it is your turn to practice your speaking. In this activity, we want to encourage you to practice your oral production.
Now, you have to try to describe the pictures and record yourself saying them. You can write a short paragraph describing the person, talking about his or her family, her job, her hobbies, etc. Use the following examples to develop your speaking product (recording).
Look at the pictures and describe the photos, as much as you can.
Picture 1
White (2014) Family [photo] Retrieved on 2017, May 2 from https://pixabay.com/en/family-father-children-boys-557108/
For example:
In this picture, we can see Paul and his children. Paul's children are Samuel and Joe. Paul's sons are six years old. They are twins. Paul's pants are blue, and the children’s sweaters are red.
Now you can use the following pictures to develop your own product.
Picture 2
Maura (2016) Christmas photo [photo] Retrieved on 2017, May 2 from https://pixabay.com/en/christmas-photo-christmas-picture-2037892/
Picture 3
Bep (2013) Camera [photo] Retrieved on 2017, May 2 from https://pixabay.com/en/camera-girl-photography-human-84893/
Your description must take 1-1:30 minutes. Take into account the organization, content, pronunciation and intonation of your work. Then, use the next rubric to evaluate yourself.
Before recording yourself, check the aspects that will be evaluated.
The organisation of the text.
You have finished with all the activities to practice the use of ('s). Now you will have a quiz, to practice a little bit more.
In this quiz, you will look at some sentences and choose the correct answer.
• Dooley, J. & Evans, V. (2007). Blockbuster US. USA: Express Publishing.
• Evans, V. (1992). Round-Up 1. Spain: Longman.
• Woodward English. (2003). Genitive Case. Retrieved on 2017, March 30 from Woodward Ltda Web site: http://www.grammar.cl/rules/genitive-case.htm
• Murphy, R. (1996). Essential Grammar in Use. Great Britain: Cambridge University Press.