Study materials
Ukrainian puts the owner after the thing. English usually takes 's for people and of for things, and the owner with 's comes before the thing.
Anna's laptop
the end of the film
This article explains how 's is formed in the singular and the plural, when to use 's and when of, 's in words about time, as in today's news, a friend of mine, and a shared owner, as in Jack and Mia's flat.
How to form ’s
When the owner is a person or an animal, an apostrophe and an s are simply added to them. The order is the reverse of the Ukrainian one. The owner comes first, the thing second.
Anna's laptop
my brother's room
If there are several owners and the word already ends in s, only the apostrophe is added. With an irregular plural everything stays as usual.
my parents' car
the children's books
So in writing the apostrophe shows how many owners there are. Before the s it means one, after the s it means several.
my sister's room
my sisters' room
If the thing has already been mentioned, it need not be repeated after ’s.
Whose keys are these? They're Mum's.
But ’s can also be short for is. If a place or a description follows it instead of a thing, it means is.
Tom's in the kitchen.
's or of
The possessive 's is usually used for people, animals, organisations and time. For things and parts of things, of is more natural.
| 's | of |
|---|---|
| my father's car | the roof of the house |
| the company's profits | the end of the film |
| today's news, a week's holiday | the top of the page |
People say my father's car, not the car of my father. When the owner has a long name, of is more natural: the car of the man who lives next door. When the thing is one of several, people say a friend of mine, a friend of yours.
If a plural noun ends in -s, the apostrophe goes after the -s: the teachers' room, two weeks' holiday. If the plural has no -s, like children, add 's: the children's toys.
Shared or separate
If two people share one thing, 's goes only after the second name. If each has their own, 's goes after each name and the thing is plural.
my brother and sister's house
One shared house.
my brother's and my sister's houses
Two different houses.
Common mistakes
The first mistake is of instead of 's for a person.
the car of my father → my father's car
's is more natural for a person.
The second mistake is the position of the apostrophe with several owners.
my parent's car → my parents' car
There are two parents, so the apostrophe goes after the s.
The third mistake is 's after each name for a shared owner.
my brother's and sister's house → my brother and sister's house
One house, so 's only at the end.
The first mistake shows if you ask who the owner is. If it is a person, 's is more natural. The second shows in the number of owners. One owner takes 's, and several owners ending in s take the apostrophe after the s. The third shows in the number of 's. For one shared owner 's goes only at the end.