Let us understand the usage of possessive nouns and their types (Representational Image)
Possessive nouns are usually formed by adding an apostrophe and ‘s’ to 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.
A possessive noun is a noun that is used to denote possession or ownership of something or someone. A noun is a word that describes a person, place or thing. A singular noun refers to one thing, whereas a plural noun refers to more than one thing. A proper noun refers to a specific person.
Possessive nouns are usually formed by adding an apostrophe and ‘s’ to 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.
types of possessive nouns with examples
1. Irregular possessive noun: An irregular noun is a noun that changes its spelling in the 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’ at the end of the word. Examples of irregular possessive nouns are women’s rights, blade of a knife.
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2. Possessive Pronouns: Also known as an absolute or strong possessive pronoun, a possessive pronoun is a pronoun that indicates possession. Examples of possessive pronouns include ‘mine’, ‘their’, ‘your’ and ‘his’. Additionally, many independent possessive pronouns do not require an extra letter ‘s’ or an apostrophe, such as ‘my’ and ‘her’.
3. Plural possessive noun: A plural possessive noun expresses ownership of more than one person, place or thing. As with regular plural words, it becomes a possessive noun with the use of the possessive apostrophe and the letter ‘s’. Examples of plural possessive pronouns include ‘our’, ‘your’ and ‘their’. Plural possessive nouns ending in the letter ‘s’ only use the apostrophe – for example ‘loaves’ or ‘parents’.
4. Singular Possessive Noun: A singular possessive noun refers to a person, place, or thing owned or to a relation to another element in a 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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