Possessive Adjectives

Whose is it?

Possessive Pronouns• Each personal pronoun has a possessive

adjective.– I have a white cat. My cat’s name is Rose.– You have an ESL class. Your class is at Mt. SAC.

– Ken and Quyt like movies. His favorite is Star Wars and her favorite is Titanic.

– Their cars are both Toyota Corollas.– We have three boys. Our children like to ride

bicycles in the park.

Singular Nouns

• We use an apostrophe + s after a noun to show possession.

• The bicycle of John = John’s bicycle

• The house of Alice = Alice’s house

• John’s bicycle is at Alice’s house.

Plural Nouns

• If the noun is plural, we put the apostrophe after the plural noun.

• The plates of the guests = the guests’ plates

Irregular Plural Nouns

• Add an apostrophe + s after an irregular plural noun.– The men’s room is in the next building.– Children’s scissors have blunt points.– Barack Obama was the people’s choice.

• The final s is optional after nouns ending in s– Mr. Jones is the boys’ football coach.

– James’ sister lives in Sacramento.

Questions

• Use whose to ask a question about possession.– Whose book is on the table?

– Eric’s book is on the table.

– Whose empty pizza boxes are on the floor?

– They are Diana and Flor’s. They are the students’ (boxes).

– Whose birthday comes on January 16th?

– Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday does.