Possessive Noun vs Pronoun

Possessive Nouns 

• They show ownership of something.  
• We usually add an apostrophe and ‘s’ at the end of a noun.  

Example:

• This is Sean’s shirt.  
• (Sean is the owner of the shirt. Thus, the noun ‘Sean’ becomes possessive by adding an apostrophe and an ‘s’.) 

Singular and Plural Possessive Nouns 

There are both singular and plural possessive nouns. 

Plural nouns with ‘s’ in the end, add an apostrophe at the end to form the possessive noun. 

• Those are my puppy’s food. (Here, it is singular. Only one puppy) 
• Those are my puppy’s food. (Here, it is plural. More than one puppy) 
• The car’s windows are painted blue. 
• All the cars’ windows are painted blue. 

Contraction vs. Apostrophe 

An apostrophe and an ‘s’ can also mean a contraction in some cases. 

A contraction is when two words are joined together to make one word.  

• Can + not = Can’t  
• Do + not = Don’t  

How to tell the difference? 

If the noun is followed by a second noun, then it is possessive. 

• The boy’s bat is stolen. (boy’s bat – possessive noun) 
• Lily’s earrings are missing. (Lily’s earrings – possessive noun) 

If the noun is followed by a verb, then it is a contraction. 

• The boy’s irritated. (The boy is) 
• Lily’s a fabulous cook! (Lily is – contraction) 

Possession 

Contraction 

Possessive Pronouns 

• They are used to talk about things that belong to a person. 
• There is no need for the apostrophe in possessive pronouns. 
• They replace nouns in a sentence. They help us show a noun’s possession. 
• There are two types of possessive pronouns. 

Examples:

• This is her pen. 
• Have you lost your pen, Jacob? 
• This book is mine, and that pen is hers. 
• The team lost their trophy this year.  

Two ways to use possessive pronouns. But one way is much simpler. 

• I said, that’s my phone.  
• It is her phone. 
• It is their house. 

Note: Here, the noun is present. 

My phone / Her phone / their house 

• I said that phone was mine. (Here, we avoided using ‘my phone’) 
• Otherwise, it would have been, ‘I said that phone was my phone.’ 
• She said that phone was her phone. (Here, we avoided using ‘her phone’) 

More Examples:

• Those are my boots. Those are not your boots. 
• Those are my boots. Those are not yours.  
• I didn’t have a paintbrush, so Cathy lent me her paintbrush. 
• I didn’t have a paintbrush, so Cathy lent me hers. 
• Your New Year Resolution sounds just as great as my New Year Resolution. 
• Your New Year Resolution sounds just as great as mine. 
• Your kitten is cute, but not as cute as our kitten. 
• Your kitten is cute, but not as cute as ours. 
• My car won’t start, can I borrow your car? 
• My car won’t start, can I borrow yours?