POSSESSIVE: APOSTROPHE ‘S - HAVE / HAS – P.A. and P.P.

I.E.P. “SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS”

REVIEW CLASS 14/06/2018 – Teacher: Enrique Flores.

Apostrophes and Possessive Nouns

The rules about forming possessives probably cause the most apostrophe confusion.
They vary a little bit, depending on what type of noun you are making into a
possessive. Here are the rules of thumb:

For most singular nouns, add apostrophe+s:

The dog’s leash The writer’s desk The planet’s atmosphere

For most plural nouns, add only an apostrophe:

The dogs’ leashes (multiple dogs) The writers’ desks (multiple writers)
The planets’atmospheres (multiple planets)

For plural nouns that do not end in s, add apostrophe+s:

The children’s toys The geese’s migration route

Style guides vary in their recommendations of what to do when you have a singular
proper noun that ends in s. Some recommend adding only an apostrophe:

Charles Dickens’ novels Kansas’ main airport

Others say to add apostrophe+s: Charles Dickens’s novels Kansas’s main airport

No matter which style guide you use, add only the apostrophe to plural proper nouns
that end in s:

The Harrises’ house The Smiths’ vacation

Use whichever style matches the style guide you use for your writing. If you don’t
have a style guide, it’s OK to just pick one of the methods, as long as you don’t switch
back and forth within the same document.

How to Write Joint Possession

What do you do with the apostrophe when you’re talking about things that belong to
more than one person? When one thing belongs to two or more people, make only the
final name possessive:

Bob and Jim’s bait shop (Bob and Jim co-own the same bait shop) Ryan, Jessica,
and Elinor’s parents (All three share the same parents)
 POSSESSIVE: APOSTROPHE ‘S - HAVE / HAS – P.A. and P.P.
I.E.P. “SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS”
REVIEW CLASS 14/06/2018 – Teacher: Enrique Flores.

When you’re talking about separate things that belong to different people, make all
the names possessive:

Bob’s and Jim’s bait shops (Bob owns one bait shop and Jim owns a different
one) Ryan’s, Jessica’s, and Elinor’s parents (Each has a different set of parents)

Using possessive personal pronouns in joint constructions often sounds awkward (You
have their and my gratitude). Usually, the best solution is to rephrase the sentence
to avoid the joint construction (You have our gratitude or You have their gratitude
and mine).

Apostrophes and Possessive Pronouns

Personal pronouns, unlike regular nouns, do not use apostrophes to form possessives.
Most writers don’t have trouble with the possessive pronouns my, mine, his,
her, and our. It’s your, yours, hers, its, ours, their, and theirs, that tend to cause the
confusion. The relative possessive pronoun whose is also frequently the victim of
apostrophe abuse. Note that none of these forms uses an apostrophe. In fact, for
some of these pronouns, adding an apostrophe forms a contraction instead of a
possessive (see the table above).

Pronoun Possessive Pronoun Absolute (Independent) Form Verb HAVE

I My Mine have (jáv)
You Your Yours have
He His His has
She Her Hers has (jás)
It Its Its has
We Our Ours have
They Their Theirs have

Exercises: Replace the personal pronouns by possessive adjectives:

1. Where is (I) ……………. book?

2. Here is (we) …………………. teacher.
3. She goes to school with (she) …………….. brother.
4. (They) ………………. father works in a car factory.
5. (You) ……………….. laptop is very expensive.
6. (He) ………………… favorite hobby is tennis.
7. (I) ……………… husband and I want to go to Paris.
8. We want to see (it) ……………… historical monuments.
9. Leila likes (she) ……………… dog !
 POSSESSIVE: APOSTROPHE ‘S - HAVE / HAS – P.A. and P.P.
I.E.P. “SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS”
REVIEW CLASS 14/06/2018 – Teacher: Enrique Flores.

10. (It) ……………… name is Bobby.

Exercises: Choose the right possessive adjective:

1. Two students didn't do ………………. mathematics homework.

2. I have a car. ………………. color is black.
3. We have a dog. ……………….. name is Pancho.
4. Nancy is from England. ………………… husband is from Australia.
5. Ann and Nadia go to a high school. ……………. little brother goes to primary school.
6. Alan has a van. ……………… van is very old.
7. We go to a high school. ………………… high school is fantastic.
8. I like singing. ……………… mother sings with me.
9. François and Alain are French. ……………. family are from France.
10. Mary likes ………………. grandmother. She often visits her.

Exercises: Have – Has. Translate these sentences.

1. Pedro, María y Juan tienen un buen proyecto.

2. La mamá de Ángela tiene un nuevo televisor.
3. Pedro es buen estudiante. Su cuaderno es ordenado.
4. Janeth tiene cinco buenas razones para no ir a la fiesta.
5. Nathalia y su padre tienen boletos para Rusia.
6. Nosotros tenemos las mejores manzanas.
7. Ella tiene mis llaves.
8. Kelly, Mariana y tu tienen buenos trabajos.
9. Ustedes tienen entradas libres al estadio.
10. Viviana, Fernando y yo no tenemos la mochila de Pedro.

WHAT IS POSSESSIVE PRONOUN?: Possessive pronouns are those designating

possession. They may also be used as substitutes for noun phrases, and they are typically
found at the end of a sentence or clause. There are only a few possessive pronouns in the
English language, and there are only two specific rules for using them correctly. Keep
these rules in mind when using possessive pronouns, and you’ll discover that writing
properly is easier.
 Like its name suggests, a possessive pronoun indicates ownership.
 Possessive pronouns do not contain apostrophes.
A possessive pronoun is used to avoid repeating information that has already been
made clear. These useful pronouns make sentences less confusing, as you’ll see when
you read the following sentences containing examples of possessive pronouns.
Examples:
 POSSESSIVE: APOSTROPHE ‘S - HAVE / HAS – P.A. and P.P.
I.E.P. “SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS”
REVIEW CLASS 14/06/2018 – Teacher: Enrique Flores.

1. This is my cat, not your cat. (Sounds repetitive)

This cat is mine, not yours.
2. I didn’t have my book so Jenny lent me her book. (Sounds repetitive)
I didn’t have my book, so Jenny lent me hers.
3. Your car is a lot faster than my car. (Sounds repetitive)
Your car is a lot faster than mine.

Exercises:
1. The mother cat and __________ kittens napped in the sunshine. (his /your/hers/her).
2. I like cream cheese on _________ bagels. (my/mine/your/our)
3. ________ grandfather used to take us fishing. (My/Mine/Our/Ours)
4. Elaine bought ________ dress at the mall. (Yours/Mine/Hers/Her)
5. The car lost _________ rear bumper in an accident. (It’s/Its/His/Her)
6. This dessert is ___________ but you can have it. (My/Mine/Yours/Delicous)
7. Please return _________ money at once. (mine/your/my/Its)
8. ______ car is so dirty I can’t even tell what color it is. (Your/Yours/Hers/Ours)
9. When the cat saw the dog, it stopped in ______ tracks. (my/Its/his/hers)