Learn English: What Are Possessive Nouns? How to Use Them?

A possessive noun is a noun that is used to show possession or ownership of something or someone. A noun is a word that refers to a person, place, or thing. Singular nouns refer to one such thing, while plural nouns refer to more than one. A proper noun refers to a specific person.

Possessive nouns are commonly created with the addition of an apostrophe and ‘s’ at the end of a noun. However, when a plural noun ends in the letter ‘s’, the possessive form of the word only requires the use of an apostrophe at the end.

Let us understand the usage of possessive nouns with their types and examples.

1. Irregular possessive nouns: An irregular noun is a noun that changes its spelling in its plural form, such as ‘man’ and ‘men.’ An irregular possessive noun follows the same English grammar as a regular plural noun by adding an apostrophe and the letter ‘s’ to the end of the word. Examples of irregular possessive nouns are- Women’s rights, Knives’ blades.

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2. Possessive pronouns: Also known as absolute or strong possessive pronouns, a possessive pronoun is a pronoun that indicates possession. Examples of possessive pronouns include ‘mine,’ ‘theirs,’ ‘yours,’ and ‘hers.’ Additionally, several independent possessive pronouns do not need the additional letter ‘s’ or an apostrophe, such as ‘my’ and ‘her.’

3. Plural possessive nouns: A plural possessive noun expresses ownership by more than one person, place, or thing. As with regular plural words, it becomes a possessive noun with the use of possessive apostrophes and the letter ‘s.’ Examples of plural possessive pronouns include ‘our,’ ‘your,’ and ‘their.’ Plural possessive nouns that end in the letter ‘s’ only use apostrophes — ‘loaves” or ‘parents” for example.

4. Singular possessive nouns: A singular possessive noun refers to one person, place, or thing with ownership or a connection to another element in the sentence. Their possessive form requires the addition of an apostrophe and the letter ‘s.’ An example of a singular possessive noun is ‘Timmy’s dog is cute.’

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